Bill Davies' multi tasks – football calls et al – with Adelaide radio 5KA sets him to head first TV station NWS9
South Australia's first television station general manager Bill Davies, at left inspecting the arrival of equipment enabing NSW9 to start broadcasting in 1959.
Bill Davies, in charge of South Australia’s first television station NWS9 from 1959, made a classic Adelaide progression from 1940s/50s radio. Arriving in Adelaide from the United Kingdom at eight, Davies was educated at Pulteney Grammar.
Davies began after-school life as a naval cadet, office boy with G & R Wills, then police cadet and constable at Port Adelaide. He became South Australia youngest assistant police prosecutor during his nine years in the force.
In 1946, he won a "Are You an Announcer?" competition, run by radio 5KA. This led him to work at 5KA as a duty announcer, including anchoring live-to-air audience participation shows. He compered a Friday lunchtime show called Peoplestores Community Sing and the weekly Serv-well Family Quiz.
Davies also became one of the state’s best Australian football radio commentators, with Tom Warhurst and Max Hall for their Saturday afternoon Woodies broadcast followed by the football show at nights. Davies also did radio calls for the Redex Around Australia Trial, boxing and Davis Cup tennis. He led Foys' Amateur Hour, a talent quest that started the careers of several professional entertainers. At 5KA, he became program manager then general manager.
The Advertiser led a group that gained a television broadcasting licence and began setting up ADS7. Rupert Murdoch, running the afternoon paper, The News, believed Adelaide had room for two TV stations. When he won the NWS9 licence, he offered Davies the job of general manager. Fellow 5KA radio staffers Rex Heading, Lionel Williams and John Doherty followed Davies to NWS9. Kevin Crease was recruited from 5DN.
Davies set up the new television station office in the News Ltd building on North Terrace, Adelaide city, with an initial staff of four. A fire in June 1959 caused major damage to equipment and the almost-complete main studio. But by September, NWS9 made South Australia’s first television telecast from its studios in Tynte Street, North Adelaide, and it was the dominant station in South Australia for more than a decade.
In 1972, Davies was appointed to the Australian Broadcasting Control Board, requiring a move to Melbourne. He preferred Adelaide and accepted an offer from premier Don Dunstan to be South Australia’s director-general of trade and development. He retired in 1977, aged 58, although his expertise was called on as chairman of FM 102.3 (formerly 5DN) in 1990.
In 1980, he received the Order of Australia for services to media and commerce, and the 2000 lifetime achievement award by the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations for “his huge contribution to commercial television as we know it today”.