Australia's Amateur Hour
Australia's Amateur Hour was an important early Australian radio and television program in the form of a talent contest, which was broadcast from 1940 to 1958,[1] which also aired briefly on television from 1957 to 1958.
| Australia's Amateur Hour | |
|---|---|
| Production | |
| Production locations | Homebush West, New South Wales |
| Release | |
| Original network | Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) |
The radio version was originally compered by Harry Dearth, then by Dick Fair, and finally by Terry Dear. It was a popular, long-running program on which many performers appeared.
The television version was compered by Terry Dear, and ran from August 1957[2] to February 1958. It aired on TCN-9 in Sydney and HSV-7 in Melbourne. The success of the radio version didn't translate onto television, with the television version closing after only seven months, and the radio version shortly after.
Episode status
Some episodes of the radio version are held by the National Film and Sound Archive. Although the television version was kinescoped so it could be shown in both Sydney and Melbourne, it is not known if any such recordings still exist today.