Across 100 days, the NFSA is celebrating 100 years of Australian radio. Our immersive online exhibition features digital and audio stories that take you through the medium’s extraordinary evolution from its origins to the digital era.
From experimental beginnings and the first public broadcast in 1923, to becoming a trusted voice in every household, car and now phone, radio has adapted and grown alongside us. It has launched pop idols, music genres, fandom and cultural debate – shaping our identity and soundtracking our lives.
To capture the weird and wonderful development of radio into the cherished audio format it is now, we will release the exhibition across five chapters, with each providing a carefully curated insight into the pivotal moments, songs and people in radio’s first century.
The exhibition kicked off with New Waves on 23 November 2023, exactly 100 years after Sydney station 2SB went to air with The Swan from Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. This first chapter is a deep dive into the origin story of radio – who invented it, how it came to Australia, and why we were such pioneers of the technology.
Explore Chapter 1 here.
Radio’s ascension into becoming a vital part of the family home and a reliable round-the-clock source of news, sport and entertainment.
Explore Chapter 2 here.
How radio, Beatlemania and the invention of the transistor became the ingredients that led to the explosion of youth culture and radio as an incubator for music and celebrity.
The significance of radio for First Nations, LGBTQIA+ and multilingual voices, with its ability to provide a voice for these communities and create connection.
The way audio storytelling has adapted and survived in the digital age through streaming and podcasts – and why radio still reigns supreme in Australia compared to other countries.
What better way to celebrate Radio 100 than with a podcast? The NFSA six-part podcast Who Listens to the Radio? will launch in February 2024 and feature the stories, songs and tech that defined radio's first century. Alongside interviews with special guests, the podcast will delve into everything from the golden years to the start of talkback, teen culture, community radio and the survival of the medium into the digital age.
We are also collecting radio memories from Australians, and we want to hear from you. Simply record a voice memo or leave us a note to share your most prized radio memories. We’ll be sharing your responses on our website, newsletters and social media channels from 23 November.
For radio and television personality Marc Fennell, his favourite radio memories began with listening to triple j as a teenager and then working in the industry:
'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', Fennell says. '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.'
Contribute your own radio memory here
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Main image: Radio 5DN equipment at Parkside, Adelaide assembled by station founder Ernest James Hume, 1924. From 5DN records and papers, 1905–1988. NFSA title: 585118
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.
A look at how quickly radio ascended from a novelty to an essential part of life for most Australian households.
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.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.
