"Good evening and welcome to television."
These were the first words spoken on Australian television by Bruce Gyngell on 16 September 1956.
Australian television started just in time for the 1956 Olympic Games which were held in Melbourne.
In 1949 Australian Prime Minister Chifley announced that the Commonwealth Government would seek to implement a national television service as soon as possible.
However a change of government and a reluctance to embrace this new medium meant that the introduction of television was delayed until 1956.
The first three stations in Melbourne were HSV7, GTV9 and the government owned ABV2 (run by the ABC).
In 1956 only a small percentage of the population owned a TV set and I can remember standing outside a local department store with a large crowd of people watching TV through the shop front window.
By early 1959 it was estimated that about 35% of homes had a television. This was the year that my father lashed out and paid 350 pounds for a TV set.
By the start of 1961 the number of places with a TV had increased to approximately 50% of homes.
Today there are currently more than eighteen million working televisions sets in Australia and many more people access TV through personal computers and other devices.
For those of us who were youngsters in the '50s and '60s there were many favourite TV programs.
Among many programs that I used to enjoy, my favourites were Superman, Circus Boy, Rawhide, The Real McCoys, The Untouchables, Seventy-Seven Sunset Strip and Have Gun Will Travel (Paladin).
On Sunday evenings after dinner our family would sit down together and watch the Sunday Evening Movie (the one night where we were allowed to stay up after 8.30 pm).
During the recent COVID-19 lockdown I have discovered that many of these early programs are available on YouTube. There are hundreds of different programs from the 1950s, '60s and '70s and I have also enjoyed watching programs that I have not seen before including the American Game Show, "What's My Line?"
Anybody with a smart TV and an internet connection can watch YouTube. It is also available via mobile devices and iPads.
Looking at some of these shows for the first time in well over 50 years I have been amazed at the wooden acting and the rather light story lines. However, these programs are still enjoyable and bring back many fond memories.