It's OK Leaving Here (1988)

A brief history of the the First 25 Years of Television in Dunedin

Russell Garbutt. February, 1988. 

Introduction:

When I was asked to throw together a few words on what has occurred throughout the 25 years that Television has been in Dunedin, I thought that it might be indeed possible to fit it into a couple of bits of paper, but it became rapidly obvious that to do so would be a grave injustice to all that has been achieved over those years and so this small booklet is the result.

It is not meant to be the definitive history. That is yet to be written, but it is meant to be a glimpse into the past, a reminder of incidents, something to prompt further research.

The other obvious point is that a history is very much a personal thing - it is what we want it to be. Only a period of time much larger than was available to me would allow the gathering of the various stories, anecdotes and reports of the hundreds of people who have been fortunate enough to have worked in Dunedin television. This brief and incomplete history is therefore written from a certain perspective, but one from which, I hope, will still be of interest to those from areas other than my own. I would also like to point out that many areas have very incomplete, or even non-existant, records of their past endeavours.

I am grateful for the assistance of several people, amongst them Dave Howell who asked me to write a few pages and Graeme Burrow, whose comprehensive filing system and memory filled in many details. To those who laboured through the drafts and corrected all my mistakes - thank you! My thanks to Jim Sullivan for responding so quickly with information, and to Sandy Powell for assembling the list of past and present staff. My thanks are also due to Frank Campbell for subbing the manuscript, and to Ken Miller for processing the photographs. The Otago Daily Times were very helpful in finding some of the very early photographs.

Included at the end of this booklet is a list of all those who have worked on the station and if there are omissions, I apologise.

The first thing that went through my mind when I put my mind to writing a history was a couole of quotes. The first was from Henry Ford, who, during his sueing of the Chicago Tribune in 1919, said that History is bunk. The second was from C P Scott, who said Television? No good will come of this device. The word is half Greek and half Latin. It will be up to history to determine whether either gentleman was correct. It will be up to us to make that history.

As usual, any omissions and incorrect information will be dealt with by the age-old cry from any Sound Operator - it's OK leaving here.