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WA television industry pioneers celebrated

[Release by ScreenWest]

A special public exhibition is being planned by the Western Region branch of the Australian Museum of Motion Picture Technology (AMMPT) to recognise the ingenuity and efforts of Western Australians involved in creating and providing television entertainment in the State over the past fifty years.

It is planned to be held at the Fremantle History Museum and will run from September 2009 till January 2010. The event will coincide in October 2009 with the 50th anniversary to celebrate when the first local television station began transmission.

The exhibition will focus on the people who worked in all the local and country television stations since that time, rather than individual TV broadcasting entities. It will also include those in the support industries: the sales, installation and service people.

A search is on to locate the pioneers of the industry. It is expected that some of the original ‘on-air’ familiar faces will be involved as well as the bulk of the industry: those behind the scenes people that made it all happen. Details of those who are progressively being added to the project database can be found under the ‘TV Web’ tab on the AAMPT website. It is hoped these people may have photographs or to contribute to the exhibition. Access to television station archives will also be sought for material not available elsewhere. Some of the early technology will also be on display.

The event is being coordinated by local ex-television employees, Ken McKay (Ph. 9310 8062) and Derric Wright (Ph. 9276 1450). They can be contacted for further information and would like to hear from anyone else interested in being involved in the project.