A look at the early days of radio, charting its rise from crystal sets through to first broadcasts and advertisements, the emergence of commercial stations and radio personalities, and how the public’s voracious appetite for daily music, sport, news and conversation hinted at what radio would become.

Professor Bridget Griffen-Foley outlines nine essential moments to know from the early years of Australian radio, 1923 to 1935.

In the 1920s, radio broadcasts were often re-recorded onto disc for purchase by the public, the majority of whom did not own wireless sets.

Percival Claude (PC) Spouse (1885-1970) was Australia's most successful harmonica player from the 1920s to the 1940s, with Anvil Chorus, rele

In the 1920s, radio broadcasts were often re-recorded onto disc for purchase by the public, the majority of whom did not own wireless sets.

Mulgaphone was a Perth-based manufacturer of radios founded in 1924 by Westralian Farmers Ltd, owners of station 6WF.

Can you help us identify these Sydney locations from landmark 1920s films made by the McDonagh sisters?

This segment from Australian Gazette c. 1928 features the annual ladies swimming carnival at Bondi Baths, Sydney. 

Australian-born and world famous tightrope circus artist Con Colleano (Cornelius Sullivan, 1899 –1973) features in this home movie of informal Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Combined Circus 'b

A short film segment with inter-titles highlighting the benefits of the newly rebuilt North Sydney Orpheum Theatre.