Pioneering announcer, producer and broadcasting manager Arthur Wyndham, has died aged 98.
He joined the ABC in 1947 as a radio announcer and newsreader.
He was sent to Canberra to broadcast parliamentary sittings but by 1955 was seconded to the BBC to learn TV production.
Back in Australia for the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956, he was the ABC’s first producer trained in outdoor broadcasting and produced the opening ceremony, athletics and swimming events.
As ABC-TV premiered around the country, he produced opening programs, pushing directors to liven up their content, and trained production and presentation staff. He was acting program director in Hobart, Adelaide and Perth, and program director in Melbourne for six years.
He had many firsts in television – first cricket telecast, first football, first orchestral concert from the Sydney Town Hall – and a few disasters. His ‘most terrifying moment’ came while recording a program in the Canberra home of the Governor-General. While Mungo MacCallum was interviewing Lord Slim, the outdoor broadcasting van blew the power to the house. The interview continued while technicians scurried past the window, and then had to start again.
He rose through radio and TV management ranks insisting on broadcasters with authentica Australian accents. Given funding by the Whitlam Government for a youth station, he hired and guided the young team at 2JJ.
He retired in 1985 as Controller Radio 1 after holding senior management positions in both radio and television, including Director Radio Planning, Director Radio 2 and 3, Assistant Federal Director Radio Programs, Controller Radio Programs, Assistant General Manager Radio, and Federal Director TV Programs.
He represented the ABC at conferences run by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and European Broadcasting Association. After his retirement he spent a decade in management with the ABU in Malaysia.
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