Channel 9 Perth celebrates it’s diamond jubilee

We are painting the town blue.

Today.

Everything is officially going blue. Council House, Elizabeth Key, the Fraser Avenue, Great Northern Highway Interchange Bridge is Majesty's Theater, Dune, Lap Drive Bridge, Matta Garrett Bridge, Mount Street, Pedgestrian Bridge, the North Bridge, titel qv One, all of these landmarks Millsey the going Blue.

All celebrating the birth of Channel nine sixty years ago.

Today.

It's one of the few things that I was around to see.

How does that make me feel?

Tito is the one that is laughing loudly, and Tomo's sitting alongside welcome you to good mornings.

I've had a quick look at some of the stuff that you're going to see tonight on nine at seven thirty, and it brings back a lot of memories, even the way that we entertain children, going back in the years, and how we did our news coverage and just perth genuinely, how it's changed so much, Michael.

In sixty years the population was five hundred thousand. Back then, there were no computers, there were no mobile phones. Times have changed dramatically and TV we'd sit there and watch I can still remember Gilligan's Island I think was on at five.

Mikhale's Navy used to come up.

At Police for me, Matt, Matt Schell Solo one, Barry Out on. Yeah, all those shows that we all grew up with it, and not just nine. But TV was such a big powerful thing then when I started newspapers, there were started in media, there were seven newspapers, but then the six o'clock news and TV really started dominating in the seventies and eighties and it was a wonderful, wonderful time.

So how long have you been at nine TV?

I have been well.

For the network, it'll be eighteen years. For nine Perth it'll be thirteen. So I started off my career. I'm a Perth girl, but started off over East and I mean even just seeing and I've always been in news, so just seeing how it's changed, the dynamic of how we gather news, how it was edited. You know back then it was tape to tape.

But you, being a woman, would be im pressed by Jenny's Seaton Jenny Comie. But she would not only do things like that, whether she would be popping up in the morning and doing it and doing it.

She was a rural front runner. If you like for women on.

She was a pioneer really for Perth, for Perth Media. And there's some wonderful footage of Jenny's Seaton when she was presenting the weather back in the day and she just looks stunning and she still is stunning.

You know.

We saw her on Monday night for marcial event at the museum and she's quite wonderful.

Tom Tom gave me my first ye back in nineteen ninety. I was still playing at Westcote ninety.

They were funny days.

Co were funny, but actually he was pretty wild, so he actually read and write back in the day.

Seriously, I always knew he was going to make it because he was always apart from being a bit crazy, had the peroxide hair and very forceful personality. He was always a super organized guy who was already thinking about a career in media post football, and I mean that he really did have it sussed out.

Tomo sent me to Ramsey McClain. Do you remember Ramsey McLain.

So he taught you how to speak, and then he put me in front of actually still got my news reading attempts that I met. He still got those videos. But then he sent me out to do these crazy sports stories. So I do color pieces. So for example, we did one with Peter Bizasto. We've lost him recently, and I was on a step ladder taking mark of the year over buzz and then you know how you went and faced the Australian hockey team because I got you to emulate me.

But that was going back.

I'd go down for the Australian Hockey team and that was the first time in my life, I reckon, I've ever thought I was going to die in a sporting on a sporting field because the balls that were hitting me and being flicked to me, it was just unbelievable the speed.

The names come flying back for me though, did I mean we were doing some promotion if you like. And Lloyd Lawson Lord, yes, out out of the Blue. Hadn't thought about him for years, the great Bruce.

Bruce Walker, Wally Foreman. You know, unfortunately we've lost both of those. Peter Waltham's gone. If you go back to the real early days, Jeff Newman was on both stations, he was on nine, Lloyd Lawson, there was Peter Dean. Peter Dean worked at both well, spent time at nine and seven. You're Peter Harry's the channel niners Club. She used to say, he still as quirky as ever.

Oh very and you know you just grew up with with.

That was a very different time, but it was a lot of fun time, a lot of local production.

I'm so happy that Tomark was sixtieth anniversary. Someone's found Flapper and Flapper is out and he's about absolutely.

Flapper, for those that don't know, was one of the station mascot, the equivalent. We had Humphrey Bear as well, and he was a big Yeah, he was a key part. Did Flapper get his name? Well, big E is Yeah, he had. He had the big E which was but Kids TV. Remember they used to be tucked in Humphrey. You get touched into bed each night. Seven had Percy the Penguin, you know where. There was a huge deal back then, and they used to use texted. They used

I saw that during the week. That's quite remarkable really, the fact that they have to mark.

Their own they did, and going back in nineteen ninety we were typing our stories on type pipewriters.

Yet, do you know I've known Tvo since she was fifteen?

Yes, so I did work experience with Tom when I was fifteen years old at Channel nine.

We went to Peter Materira's house, were going to Melbourne. She was going to go to Melbourne.

Well, I first met you when I was seventeen, so I'm fifteen forty years ago.

Thomas fourteen years ago.

You've known him for fifteen.

Years, fifteen years.

Tonight, tonight, we expect at seven point thirty on nine and nine.

Now, what's the show?

What's been such a huge team effort. Executive producer Peter Brennan, who's done a fantastic job with his team, a huge team. It's a lot of stuff to look through, all the archival footage, Millsy and Carls. So we have a look back, you know, basically when it was the first broadcast, when it turned to color, TV turned to color, and interviews with likes of Jenny Seaton, John Burgess, Greg I'm not sure if you've heard the per Symphony Orchestra medley that

There you go.

And Greg Schultz was the conductor and he was the form of music director for nine nine per for thirty five years, so it was very special for him.

So the owners of nine over the years, I mean I was talking to Tom I offair that I remember Dennis Color to the timber Baron. He was somehow connected with the original ownership.

He was the original and he made the speech on the opening night. So Douglas Kendrew was the governor. So Douglas Candrew officially opened the station. But we've had yeah, Bernie Prinival was an owner in nine. There was the Keenans, there was Sunraiser Television and then the nine network owned before. Alan Bond was a very famous owner of Channel nine and the nine network.

When Carl when you probably started, I think he.

Was just or maybe just before he just saw back to Kerry Packer. So we've had a lot of different owners over there.

I think back to a Pelothon with Ricky May and Darryl Tony Barber for that. Does that get a run at all?

Oh?

Yes, we revisit all the community. I guess connections, We've had relationships. We have a Pelothon has a huge feature in it. Just wonderful to see actually.

Stories Tomo back in the day.

Stumpcam was made here, so we look at that created the cricket, the boot cricket was was was huge for nine obviously it has been and Stumbcam was a lot of it was developed here in Perth and saying some of those big super tests and the Kerry Packett coming up with the ideas well, America's Cup played a massive part. We look at all the different things that we remember, even the some of the shows.

It's funny watching some of the shorts for it. Bruce Walker with Bob Hall, Bruce Lamous that famous saying anyone that sacks the word of as a bum. I didn't realize it was Bruce Bruce.

Bruce was there. I got a feeling Bruce.

Someone in the audience had that jacket on and I think Bruce helped coordinate that to be given to the Prime Minister and so he put it on, so he had the all the Australian emblems all over the jacket. It still exists. Someone found it somewhere, it got auctioned.

Will you still be reading the news when they celebrate their century.

Physically, that's going to be tough for me forever. Phusically it's going to be hard. We'll wait and see.

So much is changing so much as it's such a different dynamic.

Sorry time over to see the old like different faces over the years. For news as well, it's been wonderful to say.

Are you a bit emotional?

I think?

I think watching the special makes you a bit emotional. It's a very nostalgic journey, and also it reminds you of what you've done in your career as well.

So many people though I remember six PR seventy fifth anniversary, and there's so many people that have been connected with this radio station, and the same with the television station. It's the central part of the community and people trust it because they're in their lands. You're in their lands room, you guys every night, and you know you bring good news, but you also bring bad news. So there's been a lot of events that have certainly made a history in Wa.

Yes, absolutely, and I still look I'm telling TV. I can still remember nine to eleven being asked to go into the station and sit there and break into the program to say that this is what's happened in New York. It sounds I can still remember. I just write down some notes saying it sounds and feels like a nightmare, but it's not.

It's and here it is.

Just quickly, the young fella said, has just been doing some googling. He's found something.

This is what it is. Really glad I stayed in the office well.

Injury seems certain to keep West Perth Full forward Basil Zempless out of Sunday's Grand Final.

Carl Langdon went to console him.

When things were tough on Basil Zempless is taking the.

Man. He's likely to miss the Grand Final because of yet another injury. But then again, Basil has made football injuries and art.

How good that. Congratulations to nine and all involved. I hope socks off. It's worth having a check through. You'll be able to sit back and go. You might even be on it yourself, never know.

Good on your Thanks are coming today celebrating sixty years Channel nine in Perth premiers Thursday seven thirty.

That's tonight on Channel nine and nine now