New Waves: 1923 to 1935
Radio 100 - Chapter 1
Radio revolutionised Australia, signalling the dawn of modern communications, entertainment, advertising, entrepreneurship and celebrity.
But few early broadcasts survive. Radio’s origin story is one of fragments, residing in its technologies, innovations, ephemera and uncanny possibilities.
Radio 100: 100 years in 100 daysLet's Get Digital: 1990s to now
Chapter 1New Waves: 1923 to 1935
Chapter 2Golden Days: 1920s to 1960s
Chapter 3Youthquake: 1950s to 1980s
Chapter 4All the Voices: 1970s to now
Return to Radio 100Radio 100
New craze, new phase NEW WAVES
Radio launches on 23 November 1923. At first, it’s a place for experimenters to tinker with crystal sets but rapidly it’s adopted into everyday life. It fits in and around our needs – for debate, entertainment and news. Some latch onto the belief it’s a portal to speak with spirits. Others see its entrepreneurial potential and plant the first seeds of a modern start-up mentality. But it’s a history we didn’t know we needed to save.
Alongside the stories, only fragments remain – a dinner menu from the minds that made Australian radio; the wooden cubes of those first crystal sets; a recording of an early Aussie jingle. Together they detail the rise of the ‘great unknown force’ that made people marvel at the possibilities and grow anxious about its impact – a sentiment we would rinse and repeat for the 21st century internet revolution.
Read: The birth of Australian radio
Crystal sets, early broadcasts and eager listeners shaped a powerful new medium.
Guglielmo Marconi. Born in 1874, Guglielmo Marconi was 22 when he was granted the world’s first patent for wireless telegraphy. Marconi harnessed this previously unknown type of radiation – radio waves – to transmit signals and in 1909 won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions. He also founded the Marconi Company and employed the young engineer Ernest Fisk – the future godfather of Australian radio.
Guglielmo Marconi. The inventor of radio. An Italian physicist, electrical engineer and Nobel Prize winner who patented the world’s first wireless telegraph.
Guglielmo Marconi. Born in 1874, Guglielmo Marconi was 22 when he was granted the world’s first patent for wireless telegraphy. Marconi harnessed this previously unknown type of radiation – radio waves – to transmit signals and in 1909 won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions. He also founded the Marconi Company and employed the young engineer Ernest Fisk – the future godfather of Australian radio.
Sir Ernest Thomas Fisk. Born in 1886, Ernest Fisk first travelled to Australia with the Marconi Company in 1911. He became a founding director, and later managing director and chair, of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA). Fisk arranged one of Australia’s first radio broadcasts in 1919. He was knighted in 1937. By his death in 1965, AWA had become hugely influential through both its commercial radio stations and manufacturing.
Sir Ernest Thomas Fisk. Godfather of Australian radio. Entrepreneur and wireless pioneer pivotal in the establishment of Australian radio.
Sir Ernest Thomas Fisk. Born in 1886, Ernest Fisk first travelled to Australia with the Marconi Company in 1911. He became a founding director, and later managing director and chair, of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA). Fisk arranged one of Australia’s first radio broadcasts in 1919. He was knighted in 1937. By his death in 1965, AWA had become hugely influential through both its commercial radio stations and manufacturing.
Episode 1
Transmission Statement
Step back to the dawn of the 20th century. Radio was emerging as a marvel of maritime communication but would soon become the first form of home entertainment, reflecting and shaping Australian culture. Episode 1 of Who Listens to the Radio? revisits broadcast’s beginnings: the visionaries that propelled us forward, the early wireless of crystal sets, and some eerie experiments along the way.
New Waves: tech inspection
Some of the earliest pieces of radio equipment and artefacts held in the NFSA collection.
The small number of people who had crystal sets and earphones, or radio sets with large speakers, in their homes gingerly tinkered with knobs and wires or aerials for the best possible reception, marvelled at the mellow tones transmitted and invited neighbours over to share in the novelty.
— Bridget Griffen-Foley - Radio historian
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When radio took off in the 20th century so did the belief that the airwaves offered the chance to communicate with spirits – an anxiety that cast a shadow over radio’s inception story and still endures with new technological advancements today. Read Spirits in the Material World.
'The language of the mystical and the fantastic provided a concrete, enduring way to understand the increasing presence of mass communications in daily life.'
When radio took off in the 20th century so did the belief that the airwaves offered the chance to communicate with spirits – an anxiety that cast a shadow over radio’s inception story and still endures with new technological advancements today. Read Spirits in the Material World.
Amy Butterfield shares the challenges and surprising discoveries of curating for Radio 100, including how Australia was a radio ‘vanguard’, dating the oldest radio broadcast in the NFSA collection, and – despite the gap in time – the parallels between the rise of radio and the internet as a means of human connection.
'I've enjoyed how all the items in the NFSA's collection come together, building such a richly textured picture of the period. And though much has changed since the 1920s, what struck me was all that remained the same, even 100 years later.'
Amy Butterfield shares the challenges and surprising discoveries of curating for Radio 100, including how Australia was a radio ‘vanguard’, dating the oldest radio broadcast in the NFSA collection, and – despite the gap in time – the parallels between the rise of radio and the internet as a means of human connection.
New Waves: radio ephemera
From recordings to portraits and souvenir programs, step back in time with a selection of rare preserved radio materials from the NFSA vault.
The parallel between early radio and early internet I find most endearing is that they epitomise what can be achieved by the efforts of enthusiastic amateurs.
— Amy Butterfield - Radio 100 curator
Rewind and rediscover.
Enjoy surprising and moving moments from Australia’s screen and sound history with In Focus – delivered straight to your inbox every month.
At 8 o’clock on the evening of Friday 23 November 1923, people gathered across Sydney to tune into 2SB. Whether they had crystal sets and earphones or radio sets with large speakers, they tinkered with knobs, wires or aerials for the best possible reception as broadcasting in Australia officially began with St Andrew’s Choir performing ‘Le Cygne’ (‘The Swan’) from Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.
Music to our ears: in 1923 Australians heard a song on the radio for the first time. That song? ‘Le Cygne’ from Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.
At 8 o’clock on the evening of Friday 23 November 1923, people gathered across Sydney to tune into 2SB. Whether they had crystal sets and earphones or radio sets with large speakers, they tinkered with knobs, wires or aerials for the best possible reception as broadcasting in Australia officially began with St Andrew’s Choir performing ‘Le Cygne’ (‘The Swan’) from Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.
Most early radio advertisements were read out live on air, but an exception was pre-recorded jingles. In 1930, 3DB commissioned Charlie Vaude to create the Smile Away Club theme. It was a success: by the end of the decade, the club had 50,000 members. Another notable jingle was Trueform Shoes. Set to ‘The Blue Danube’, it’s an early example of matching advertising copy to popular music.
Stay tuned! To stop listeners changing stations, pre-recorded musical radio promotions called jingles were created, such as the popular theme song for 3DB’s Smile Away Club.
Most early radio advertisements were read out live on air, but an exception was pre-recorded jingles. In 1930, 3DB commissioned Charlie Vaude to create the Smile Away Club theme. It was a success: by the end of the decade, the club had 50,000 members. Another notable jingle was Trueform Shoes. Set to ‘The Blue Danube’, it’s an early example of matching advertising copy to popular music.
Nine Essential Moments in Early Radio
Professor Bridget Griffen-Foley outlines nine essential moments to know from the early years of Australian radio, 1923 to 1935.