Radio 100 | NFSA National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

There's more to radio than meets the ear

The story of radio is not what you might expect. Have you ever wondered how radio moved from furniture to fashion? Why video never actually killed the radio star? How a tech evolution spurred a cultural revolution?

Radio 100 tells those stories, and now, all five chapters are available to explore.

Travel back to 1923 to start the story (Chapter 1), visit radio's giddy heydays (Chapter 2) or join in the teenage revolution of the 1960s (Chapter 3). Then, discover the communities that radio built (Chapter 4) and finally, get digital as radio reinvents itself yet again (Chapter 5).

Start your adventure through 100 years of Aussie audio history now.

There’s something about audio

What does radio mean to you?

It’s been almost 100 years since Australia’s first official radio broadcast. So in the spirit of birthday celebration, we want to know what radio means to you.

Follow this link to be part of Radio 100.

Logos for many different Australian radio stations.

The Radio 100 podcast

Arriving 6 March

Launching on 6 March, Who Listens to the Radio? is a six-part podcast about technology and culture. Listen to the trailer now. The full podcast is available from 6 March on the NFSA website, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Our radio memories

Radio and TV personality Lee Simon sitting in a radio studio in front of some turntables. He is turned slightly away from the camera.

Reminisce here

We asked people in radio and music, as well as everyday Australians, to look back at how radio has impacted their lives and what it means to them. Here’s what they said .

Radio 100 in your inbox

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Radios through the ages

These days radio travels with us – in cars, on our mobile, through headphones – but this wasn’t always the case. See if you recognise any of the radio equipment in the NFSA’s collection and discover the cutting-edge technology of the time.

Portable radio received with fold out speakers on the side and a carry handle on top

1962: PYE Blackbox transistor stereophone

A radio received in a black box with round speaker and dials on the front. It has a carry handle on the top.

1930: Airzone portable radio receiver

Radio receiver in white plastic casing with dials and display on the front

1950: The Astor 'Mickey Mantle' radio

1965: Sony TR-823 transistor radio

A JVC branded 'boom box' portable tape player and radio with a large carry handle.

1987: JVC component system PVC-V55

A pink Sony branded digital mp3 music player.

2007: The Sony Walkman NWZ-S616F

Close up of some radio and sound equipment from the early-mid 1920s

'Radio has been the soundtrack to my life, from Mum listening to Macca on local ABC in the 80s, to taping songs off triple j in high school. Now my husband texts the breakfast show of our Sydney community radio station and my daughter and I listen out with glee for his shout-outs and song requests.'

Clare Fletcher, Author

Description

'Radio has been the soundtrack to my life, from Mum listening to Macca on local ABC in the 80s, to taping songs off triple j in high school. Now my husband texts the breakfast show of our Sydney community radio station and my daughter and I listen out with glee for his shout-outs and song requests.'

Clare Fletcher, Author

Description

'Radio has been the soundtrack to my life, from Mum listening to Macca on local ABC in the 80s, to taping songs off triple j in high school. Now my husband texts the breakfast show of our Sydney community radio station and my daughter and I listen out with glee for his shout-outs and song requests.'

Clare Fletcher, Author

Description

'I often think about a story from the SBS Greek team. At a street festival one day a listener was chatting to the presenting team before a live broadcast. She said she had to leave to go home to listen to the show. She knew she could stay and see it live, but 4pm to her meant sitting on her sofa with a tea and the radio on. Audio is enmeshed in our lives. Radio and podcasts fit into our routines, but there’s also something incredibly special about the connection they can create.'

Caroline Gates SBS Manager of Podcasts and Digital Audio

'As a teenager, I fell for radio, staying up late to tune into triple j. Over the years, hosting ABC radio has made me feel like Australia is a rich tapestry woven with incredible conversations, characters and stories that we're all fortunate enough to immerse ourselves in. Live broadcasts can hold you in the moment. Radio has bound us together in times of emergency. Crafting audio documentaries across the globe has revealed to me the profound, understated power of a microphone to capture people at their most honest. If you want to witness someone's humanity? Listen to them.'

Marc Fennell Journalist, radio and television personality

'To me, radio, podcasts and audio culture in Australia means so much: it’s the thing you put in your ears to tune out the world or feel more connected to it. It’s road trips flicking through stations to find the right song or the local weather report. It’s listening to my footy team winning a match as a kid. It’s a podcast shared best with friends or that makes you feel like the hosts are your best friends. It’s a shower while listening to the morning news. It’s my first boombox, Walkman, iPod and phone. It’s pressing play and record at the same time to tape a song during the top 40 countdown in the 90s. It’s music and joy and my career. It’s stories through sound; in episodes, instances, songs or industry. It’s community, education and entertainment. It’s the past, present and future.'

Stephanie Van Schilt Producer at LISTNR

'I really came of age when the intimate relationships audiences had with radio evolved to become even more direct through podcasting. The evolution from broadcasting to narrowcasting, it became about finding the specific things you cared about and allowing the like-minded people that share that passion to live in your ears.'

Alexei Toliopoulos Film critic, host of Finding Drago podcast

'Training as a journalist, I thought I’d write features or perhaps do TV. But I found radio, and it’s become my enduring career love affair. For me, radio is the adrenaline thrill of being live with an open mic; its greatest joy is the one-to-one connection you make with each listener, and the theatre of-the-mind you create together. There’s nothing else like radio.'

Andrea Ho AFTRS Head of Radio and Podcasting

'As a volunteer at SYN 90.7 at RMIT, I was lucky enough to get to host my own show. I called it folk ODYSSEY (dramatic, Michelle), and it ran on Sundays at 2pm. It was one of the first projects I worked on where it was just me. If I wasn't ready at 2pm on Sunday, there would be dead air. It was a powerful feeling, getting to talk to people and share something I was passionate about. It ended up being a fortuitous experience, as years later I became a podcast producer and have worked on over 4,000 hours of podcasting on more than 10 shows. My love affair with audio continues today, but it started back in that underground studio on Sunday afternoons, talking at the wall about 60-year-old folk tunes.'

Michelle Melky Producer at Amplify