OTC Carnarvon Satellite Earth Station

“Down Under Comes Up Live”

25th November 1966

(Would any of the OTC or ABC people who helped make the broadcast possible like to share their experiences?)

Among the many ‘firsts’ for Carnarvon township was that it featured in the first ever satellite TV broadcast to originate in Australia.

In late October 1966, a new Intelsat IIa satellite – intended for geostationary orbit above the Pacific Ocean – failed to achieve the desired orbit due to an early shutdown of its rocket.

This rendered the satellite useless as it slowly drifted westwards. However, ground station engineers realised a window of opportunity would occur as the satellite passed over the Indian Ocean. For up to twenty minutes, a one-way television link could be set up between Carnarvon OTC Satellite Earth Station and the Goonhilly Down Earth Station in the UK.

Carnarvon had no domestic television (until late 1969) and there was no capability to send TV from elsewhere in Australia to Carnarvon for transmission to the satellite. Therefore, at short notice, technicians and outside broadcast vans were driven from Perth the 900km to Carnarvon.

The broadcast was produced jointly by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) and the BBC.

Link up with British families in the UK

The broadcast was to be a relatively low-key family reunion – with three British families in Carnarvon being linked with their families back in the UK.

The three families were Frank and Pauline Vinton and their baby son Ian, Alan and Jean Gilham and their sons Steven and Andrew, and Les and Laura Brightwell. Frank Vinton and Alan Gilham were in Carnarvon to work at the NASA tracking station. Les Brightwell had come to Carnarvon some years earlier and had married a local girl.

In addition, the local publican and Mayor, Wilson Tuckey, a local sheep farmer Clarrie Lewington and ‘flying padre’ Rev. John McCahon from the Australian Inland Mission were featured. Despite dropouts in the signal, there was over twelve minutes of television.

The broadcast began just after 6:25am London time (2:25pm West Australian time) on Friday November 25th 1966. It was seen live in the UK. Because there were no television links from Carnarvon to Perth, a copy of the UK broadcast was flown immediately to Australia and then released as a news item for use by commercial channels.

Clipping from a 1967 Department of Supply newsletter.

Scan: Alan Gilham. Click image for a larger version.

The TV Broadcast

With thanks to Alan Gilham for providing a copy of the broadcast. Screenshots by Colin Mackellar.
All rights are fully acknowledged.

This is how the broadcast unfolded –

It is 6:25am in London on Friday November 25, 1967.

On the BBC, the opening title of “Down Under Comes Up Live” is accompanied by the strains of Frank Ifield singing “Walzing Matilda”.

In London, congenial BBC Presenter Raymond Baxter introduces the broadcast as “another step forward in television history”. He has with him a globe of the Earth, complete with a model showing the position of the Intelsat IIa (also known as the Early Bird II) satellite.

Raymond Baxter explains that after an early rocket shutoff four weeks earlier, the Early Bird II satellite is now “wandering its errant way round the Earth in an elongated orbit” – thus providing a brief window of opportunity for the TV linkup.

Paddy Feeny (left) and relatives of three British families in Carnarvon wait in the London TV studio.

As the BBC crosses live to executive producer Kim Corcoran in Carnarvon, viewers see him standing (front and just right of centre) with a crowd in in front of the war memorial in Robinson Street.

The camera pans up and to the south west to show traffic in Robinson Street. Camel Lane is off to the right.

On the balcony of the Port Hotel across the street, ABC TV Science Presenter Peter Pockley interviews the 30 year old publican and Mayor of Carnarvon, Wilson Tuckey. (Wilson Tuckey went on to become a long-serving member of the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament.) Local farmer Clarrie Lewington is on the right.

Kim Corcoran begins interviewing three of the British families in Carnarvon.

Front row L–R: Laura & Les Brightwell, Jean & Alan Gilham (with their sons Steven and Andrew in front of them), Kim Corcoran (holding microphone), Pauline Vinton (holding 4 month old Ian), Frank Vinton (holding Sussan) and Joanne (standing in front of Frank).

Pauline and Frank Vinton send greetings to their family in the UK. Frank works at the NASA tracking station.

Pauline Vinton holds baby Ian for the family to see.

Jean Gilham speaks – her husband Alan is just off camera to the right. (The satellite video link was temporarily lost just as Alan spoke. The audio to and from London was transmitted independently by cable via the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.)

Andrew Gilham – just after the picture is restored.

Steven Gilham smiles for his unseen grandparents.

Mr & Mrs E.J. Gilham – Alan’s parents – in London are enthralled as they watch the live picture from half a world away. Mrs Florence Brightwell is at top right.

Laura & Les Brightwell speak with Les’ family in the UK.

‘Flying padre’, the Rev. John McCahon from the Australian Inland Mission, is interviewed by Peter Pockley.

Part way through the interview, the satellite link is lost and Raymond Baxter in London concludes a memorable and historic programme.

The camera used for the interviews is mounted on the Main Roads Department building – this photo taken not long before the broadcast.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

Looking along in Robinson Street. In the distance is the tower used to relay the pictures to the OTC satellite station.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

The crowd at the war memorial waiting for the telecast to start.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

Kim Corcoran listens to voices from London on his headphones.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

Alan Gilham is interviewed by Kim Corcoran as Jean and the boys look on.

Joan Dench is just visible behind the microphone and Paul Dench is hidden behind Kim Corcoran. The Denchs’ daughter Alison and son Alan are at centre, just in front of Joan.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

Laura & Les Brightwell are interviewed.

In this photo, Pauline Vinton is holding baby Ian – and Frank has his arms around Sussan (white dress). Standing in the foreground with her back to the camera is Joanne Vinton.

(With thanks to Suzi Vinton for help with the IDs.)

Photo: Alan Gilham. Click on the image for a much enlarged version.

Another view as Kim Corcoran speaks with the Gilham boys.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

Les Brightwell.

Photo: Alan Gilham.

The ABC-TV camera atop the Main Roads Department building in the main street.

From The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14th December 1966. Scan: Alan Gilham.

The ABC-TV vans in the red dust at Carnarvon beside the OTC 42' antenna used to uplink the TV. The microwave antennae link to the OB van in town, 5 kilometres away.

From The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14th December 1966. Scan: Alan Gilham.

Alan Gilham has also scanned this page from The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14th December 1966. (Click on the image for a 300kb enlargement, for here for a 1.1MB version). All rights of copyright owners are acknowledged.

The Evening Standard of 25 November 1966 reported the TV programme.

Scan: Alan Gilham. All rights of copyright owners are acknowledged.

Another report from an un-named UK newspaper.

Scan: Donna Vinton. All rights of copyright owners are acknowledged.

Alan Gilham has shared these extracts from the Isle of Wight Chronicle, 1st December 1966.

With grateful thanks to Alan Gilham, Paul Dench, Suzi Vinton and Donna Vinton.

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