Halbrowne61
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“King of the Road “
Nostalgia
- Thread starter The SHADOW
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29 March 1968, Singer and TV personality Don Lane (1933-2009) facing drug charges, pictured outside court with his barrister Marcus Einfeld.
"In March 1968, Lane was charged with importing marijuana into Australia. He was arrested at Sydney Airport and remanded in custody.
He strenuously protested his innocence, claiming that the drugs were planted into his jacket pocket by a former business associate who wanted revenge.
He was found not guilty on all charges, being defended by barrister Marcus Einfeld."
"In March 1968, Lane was charged with importing marijuana into Australia. He was arrested at Sydney Airport and remanded in custody.
He strenuously protested his innocence, claiming that the drugs were planted into his jacket pocket by a former business associate who wanted revenge.
He was found not guilty on all charges, being defended by barrister Marcus Einfeld."
April 3, 1957 — Today, a laptop would probably do the job. But back in 1957, when Norwich City Council became a pioneer among British local authorities applying computer technology to handle its payroll and tax on residents, a BIG machine was needed to handle the work, as became apparent on this day.
So big, in fact, that the computer had to be delivered on the back of a truck and then manoeuvred into the offices using ropes, pulleys – and brute strength.
The Council’s first computer came from Elliott Brothers of London and was photographed being delivered in February 1957. It took a while before the monster was up and running. Then on 3 April that year, amid much fanfare and in the presence of the Lord Mayor and the Press, Council officials gave a demonstration of the machine in action.
Within the computer was a rapidly revolving magnetic drum on which “words” could be recorded. Each “word” was equivalent to a nine-digit number or six alphabetic characters. The films for the magnetic drum came in reels 1,000 feet long, each capable of storing about 300,000 “words”. The “words” were received onto the film from hand-punched paper tape.
The preparation of local tax bills came about through the punching on paper tape of the figures involved and the paper tape was used to control electric typewriters. They produced the finished bill on continuous stationery which was then simply torn off and sent to the householder.
Local government involves a lot of repetitive work and Norwich Council thought that it was, therefore, “a field where the advantages of speed and accuracy inherent in electronic data processing will lead to substantial savings.”
They anticipated savings on staff alone of 20 per cent.
The possibility that they needed to lose staff to make room for such a massive amount of machinery was not mentioned.
So big, in fact, that the computer had to be delivered on the back of a truck and then manoeuvred into the offices using ropes, pulleys – and brute strength.
The Council’s first computer came from Elliott Brothers of London and was photographed being delivered in February 1957. It took a while before the monster was up and running. Then on 3 April that year, amid much fanfare and in the presence of the Lord Mayor and the Press, Council officials gave a demonstration of the machine in action.
Within the computer was a rapidly revolving magnetic drum on which “words” could be recorded. Each “word” was equivalent to a nine-digit number or six alphabetic characters. The films for the magnetic drum came in reels 1,000 feet long, each capable of storing about 300,000 “words”. The “words” were received onto the film from hand-punched paper tape.
The preparation of local tax bills came about through the punching on paper tape of the figures involved and the paper tape was used to control electric typewriters. They produced the finished bill on continuous stationery which was then simply torn off and sent to the householder.
Local government involves a lot of repetitive work and Norwich Council thought that it was, therefore, “a field where the advantages of speed and accuracy inherent in electronic data processing will lead to substantial savings.”
They anticipated savings on staff alone of 20 per cent.
The possibility that they needed to lose staff to make room for such a massive amount of machinery was not mentioned.
(As told by Pet Graham, ex Sydney radio presenter)
The April Fools’ Day Prank That Never Happened… (1988)
Back in ’88, we almost pulled off one of the great radio April Fools’ Day stunts. The plan? Every Sydney breakfast announcer would swap stations for one morning.
The idea was cooked up over a long lunch at Ron Casey’s place — a gathering to honour Gary O’Callaghan’s incredible run doing Monday–Friday breakfast on 2UE. (Gary later moved to weekends, and Alan Jones eventually stepped into the slot.)
The lineup was wild:
• Mike Carlton was set to do breakfast on 2UW
• Bazz & Pilko were lined up for 2CH
• And from memory, I was headed to 2Day FM
It would’ve been chaos, fun, and absolute radio history.
But… one of the crew pulled the pin, and the whole thing fizzled.
Still, what a moment. What an idea. And what a time to be in Sydney radio.
The April Fools’ Day Prank That Never Happened… (1988)
Back in ’88, we almost pulled off one of the great radio April Fools’ Day stunts. The plan? Every Sydney breakfast announcer would swap stations for one morning.
The idea was cooked up over a long lunch at Ron Casey’s place — a gathering to honour Gary O’Callaghan’s incredible run doing Monday–Friday breakfast on 2UE. (Gary later moved to weekends, and Alan Jones eventually stepped into the slot.)
The lineup was wild:
• Mike Carlton was set to do breakfast on 2UW
• Bazz & Pilko were lined up for 2CH
• And from memory, I was headed to 2Day FM
It would’ve been chaos, fun, and absolute radio history.
But… one of the crew pulled the pin, and the whole thing fizzled.
Still, what a moment. What an idea. And what a time to be in Sydney radio.
Halbrowne61
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