It's Gavin Mirceboy, drives.
Good day, good day.
What can they do, mate?
They're on the approach, mate.
So inclinate what was going on.
When ABC TV began transmission on November the 5th, 1956,
this locally made version of J.M. Barrie's The Twelve Pound Look
had pride of place in the opening night lineup.
In those first years, TV drama meant plays,
and the ABC produced two each month,
one in Sydney, one in Melbourne.
They were basic, live to air,
and by today's standards, fairly unsubtle.
In 1960, when the ABC produced Stormy Petrel
about the life and times of Captain William Bly,
it was the first time we'd seen our history on television.
It was a landmark production for the fledgling network.
Not surprisingly, the most popular shows on television
were those about ourselves,
dramas which reflected Australian life, past and present.
By 1967, the ABC was producing fast-moving contemporary dramas
like Contrabandits and casting a new generation of actors
in a variety of roles that hitherto didn't exist.
About the same time, the ABC decided to dramatise life in a country town.
The characters of Bill Boode soon won the hearts of Australian viewers,
in the process pioneering Australian soap.
1974 saw the production of The Fourth Wish, written by Michael Craig.
It starred actor John Millian, who gave a memorable performance,
and was one of the last dramas made in black and white.
The advent of colour in 1975 gave new life to television drama.
Ethel Turner's Seven Little Australians was ABC's first co-production,
and the first series to win international recognition for its quality.
Colour also saw the ambitious dramatisation of the novel Power Without Glory,
the first Australian drama to deal critically with issues of political corruption.
80 years later, Scales of Justice faced issues of another form of corruption.
Fictional, but based on actual events, it introduced a whole new genre to Australian television.
On the eve of the bicentennial came Captain James Cork,
perhaps the most ambitious drama series of its era,
tracing, as it did, the historic voyage south of one of the world's greatest navigators.
Cork was shown to great acclaim all around the world.
The next year, the ABC produced another series that captured a formative period in Australian history.
The True Believers evoked strong emotional responses with its depiction of labour in government in the 40s.
As the 90s approached, the ABC embarked on a series of programs
aimed both at pleasing a wide audience and providing an alternative to commercial TV.
GP established itself as a drama that examined a broad range of social issues,
as well as those encountered in the medical practice.
In 1991, Brides of Christ brought a whole new set of issues to Australian television.
It looked at the lives of women who'd pledged themselves to God
in an era when everything, including their way of life, was under serious challenge.
It hit a nerve.
Brides of Christ attracted one of the biggest audience ratings ever for Australian-made drama.
Ten years ago, the ABC set a target of 100 hours of Australian drama per year.
This was achieved largely by producing long-running series and miniseries, and mostly by co-production.
To reach a broader audience, these series presented a variety of styles and ideas.
ABC dramas on police or political corruption achieved a cutting edge never before seen on Australian television.
Over the last few years, ABC drama has produced a body of work that holds a mirror to our past and present
and our relationships with the rest of the world, particularly Asia and the Pacific.
Since it was introduced 40 years ago, television drama has taken big steps in quality, techniques, and the expression of ideas.
Unlike the Australian film industry, it's an integral part of our culture.
Zero.
Australian-made drama is now shown all around the world, presenting a window on a land that 40 years ago
really made the world press, let alone cinema and television screens.
But its first audience remains the people on whom the stories are based,
and which, if well told, will strike a chord wherever they shine.