50 Years

From its (at times) not-so-smooth launch in November 1956 from a studio in Kings Cross, some of the best-loved, most iconic programs in Australian memory have been seen on the ABC. Here are some memories you are sure to remember, some so vividly that it will seem like yesterday that you watched them - although it may have been 20 years ago! Tim Bowden remembers decade by decade not just the great shows, the brilliant mini-series and drama, the cutting-edge current affairs, the springboard to success for so many young comedians, but also the changes to the ABC itself, the way the public broadcaster has evolved and grown, the successes and challenges to maintain its integrity and to live up to its charter, to be the most trusted public institution in Australia. Featured programs include Mr Squiggle, Playschool, Adventure Island, Bananas in Pyjamas, Weekend Magazine, This Day Tonight, Four Corners, Media Watch, Lateline, Foreign Correspondent, Australian Story, Bellbird, Certain Women, GP, Seachange, Phoenix, Seven Little Australians, Rush, Power Without Glory, Brides of Christ, Aunty Jack, The D-Generation, Frontline, Mother and Son, The Games, Kath and Kim, Why is it So?, A Big Country, The Inventors, In the Wild, Towards 2000, The Investigators, Nature of Australia, Bush Tucker Man, Gardening Australia, Message Stick, Enough Rope and Countdown.