1959 in Australian television
1959 in Australian television was the fourth year of television broadcasts in Australia.
Events
Television broadcasts in the state of Queensland (Brisbane) were aired for the very first time, starting with the Nine Network's QTQ on 16 August, followed soon after by the Seven Network's BTQ on 1 November, and the ABC's ABQ on the next day.
The first television station in Adelaide, South Australia (NWS-9) began broadcasting on 5 September.
On 1 July, Australian children's TV series Mr. Squiggle and Friends debuts on ABC starting off as a temporary fill in. Years later the show has been so popular it continues to air on the ABC until 9 July 1999.
Notable debuts and endings
Notable Australian series that debuted during 1959 included variety and/or music series Adelaide Tonight, The Bobby Limb Show, Six O'Clock Rock and Make Ours Music, game show Wheel of Fortune, discussion series The Critics, and short-lived drama series Emergency. Additionally, ATN-7 and GTV-9 experimented with local drama with the Shell Presents productions of plays.
Notable series which ended in 1959 included variety and/or music series Astor Showcase, Hit Parade and Sydney Tonight (which had been re-titled and re-formatted as Tonight), drama series Autumn Affair and Emergency, and comedy series Take That.
New programming
Domestic
- 1 July - Mr. Squiggle and Friends (ABC TV)
International
Huckleberry Hound (Nine Network - Sydney, Seven Network - Melbourne)- Spunky and Tadpole (Nine Network)
- Quick Draw McGraw (Nine Network - Sydney, Seven Network - Melbourne)