Springbok Radio (spelled Springbokradio in Afrikaans, ) was a South African nationwide radio station that operated from 1950 to 1985.
History SABC's decision in December 1945 to develop a commercial service was constrained by postwar financial issues. After almost five years of investigation and after consulting Lord Reith of the BBC and the South African government, it decided to introduce commercial radio to supplement the SABC's public-service English and Afrikaans networks and help solve the SABC's financial problems. The SABC would build the equipment and facilities and would place them at the disposal of advertisers and their agencies at cost for productions and allow them to make use of SABC's production staff.
On 1 May 1950, the first commercial radio station in South Africa, Springbok Radio, took to the air.Broadcasting in South Africa, Keyan G. Tomaselli Currey, 1989, page 197 Bilingual in English and Afrikaans, it broadcast from the Johannesburg Centre for 113 and a half hours a week.Press, Film, Radio, Volume 4, Unesco, 1950, page 435 The service proved so popular with advertisers at its launch that commercial time had been booked well in advance.Africa Institute Bulletin, Volume 11, 1973, page 155 The service started at 6:43 am with the music Vat Jou Goed en Trek, Ferreira. The first voice on air was that of Eric Egan, well remembered for his daily "Corny Crack"Financial Mail, Issues 5–9, page 150 and catch phrase "I Love You".With the Lid Off: South African Insights from Home and Abroad 1959–2000, Todd Matshikiza, John Matshikiza, Jacana Media, 2000, page 54
Many drama programmes during the 1950s were imported from Australia, but as more funding became available, Springbok Radio produced almost all its programmes within South Africa through a network of independent production houses. By the end of 1950, some 30% of Springbok Radio shows were produced by South African talent or material and independent productions were sold to sponsors. At the same time, all air time had been sold or used and transmission time was extended. By the end of the 1950s, the revenue of Springbok Radio was £205,439; in 1961, it had grown to over R 2 million (£1 million), and by 1970, it had reached R 6.5 million.
By 1985, Springbok Radio was operating at a heavy loss.Debates of Parliament: Hansard, Volume 8, Issues 19–21, 1988, page 12123 Stiff competition from television, despite the late arrival of the medium in 1976, saw Springbok Radio's urban listenership sharply decline, and it lost all listeners in rural areas with the handing over of its shortwave frequencies to Radio 5. Springbok Radio ceased broadcasting on 31 December 1985.Springbok Radio Revisited, SABC
List of programmes Springbok Radio's programme schedules reflected the white, primarily English-speaking, suburban lifestyle of the period, when many women were housewives. Weekday schedules broadly comprised a breakfast session (05:00 – 08:30), women's programmes (08:30 – 14:00), Afrikaans soap operas (14:00 – 16:15), teatime chat shows (16:15 – 16:45), children's programmes (16:45–18:15), dinnertime programmes (18:15 – 19:00), the main news bulletin (19:00 – 19:15), and family shows (19:15 – 24:00). Saturday programmes were generally light - music, sitcoms, and quizzes. Sunday was more sedate - music, chat shows, requests for the armed forces (during the 1970s and 1980s), news commentary, and drama. For several years from its start in 1950, Sundays had no advertisements.
Programmes included:
Children's The Adventures of Jet Jungle (1973–1985) – "most amazing man of our time"; created by Brian O'Shaughnessy and sponsored for many years by the Tiger Oats Company, makers of Jungle Oats and Black Cat Peanut Butter The Air Adventures of Hop Harrigan (1950–1957) – from Australia The BP Smurf Show (1982–1985) The Casey Kids (1960s) Chappies Chipmunk Club Luck of the Legion (1979) My Pal Shep (1960s) Ricky Roper, Schoolboy Detective Superman (1950–1957) – from Australia Tarzan, King of the Apes (1950–1955) – from Australia The Twilight Ranger (1950–1953) – originally from Australia
Comedy/variety Father, Dear Father (1974–1985) – produced by Tom Meehan Friends and Neighbours – Pat Simpson and Valerie Miller-Brown (later Jim Williams and Bella Mariani) as the Duffs, David Horner and Gillian Lomberg as the Loaders; and Frank Graham The Goode Life (1969–1971) Leave It to Van der Merwe Life with Dexter (1967–1969) – from Australia Loudspeaker Show The Men from the Ministry (1969–1985) – "the bowler, briefcase and brolly brigade"; produced by Tom Meehan, starring John Simpson, Roger Service, Maureen Adair, Tommy Reed, Frank Graham, Tom Meehan and Pat Simpson; adapted from the BBC radio series The Navy Lark (1973–1985) – "the craziest crew afloat"; adapted from the BBC radio series Next Stop Makouvlei (1969–1972) The Nugget Bunkhouse Show (early 1950s) from Australia, where it was simply known as The Bunkhouse Show The Pip Freedman Show (1968–1985) Taxi (1969–1972) (1975–1978) – "the trials and tribulations of a New York taxi driver"; written and produced by Joe Stewardson; directed by David Gooden at the Sonovision Studios, Johannesburg. It starred George Korelin as Chuck Edwards, Tony Jay as Red Kowalski and Patricia Sanders as Mertyl. The series started its run on Sunday evenings in 1969 and ended in 1972. A second season of the series started in 1975 and continued until 1978 on Monday evenings. Some of the second-season episodes were written by Jay and George Korelin. During the second season, Jay briefly left the series and the role was taken over by actor Adrian Egan. Jay later returned, and the series became just as popular as what it was during the original run. Due to the success of the series, a full feature film was made in South Africa by Killarney Film Studios in 1971, starring the original stars from the radio series. The series is currently being rebroadcast on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Mondays. The Bloodhounds (1975–1976)
Documentary Call Back the Past (1968–1982) – devised and presented by Percy Sieff; the series was broadcast every Tuesday evening at 18h45; it is being rebroadcast at present on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Tuesdays Cameos of the Holy Land (1981–1985) – compiled and presented by David Brown
Drama Death Touched My Shoulder (1966–1970) General Motors on Safari (1965–1969) – highly acclaimed series of the African Bushveld. Most episodes were dramatised stories, although some of them were presented as true-life documentary. The series was produced by Michael McCabe and was broadcast on Friday evenings at 19h30. Sponsored throughout its run by General Motors South Africa. The series is being rebroadcast at present on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Tuesdays. High Adventure (1972–1985) – a series of dramatised adventure dramas. Replaced the series "Next Stop Makouvlei" on Tuesday evenings. The series was directed by Henry Diffenthal at the Olympia Recording Studios in Durban. Writers included Ron Evans, Denver Morgan, Norman Partington etc. The series moved to Thursday evenings in 1976 and then Saturday evenings in 1979 and ended in June 1985. Rebroadcasts of the series can be heard on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio on Tuesdays. Medical File (1969–1973, 1975–1979) Scoop (1974–1977) – true stories that have made headlines; produced by Delphine Lethbridge; can currently be heard every Friday on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio Tales of Antiquity (1975–1976) – written and produced by Kenneth Hendel; broadcast on Springbok Radio, on Saturday evenings; the original series ran for 30 minutes per episode; the series made a brief appearance on Radio South Africa in 1986 but this time running for only 15 minutes Tales from the Seven Seas (1974–1979) – written by Annette McKenzie and Jack Mullen and Produced by Andre Bothma; can be heard every Thursday on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio The World of Dick Francis (1981–1984) – dramatised novels The World of Hammond Innes – dramatised novels
Courtroom/detective/police Address Unknown (1956–1970) – originally from Australia. In 1960 after the Australian run, the series was written and produced in South Africa. Many of the episodes were written in SA by Adrian Steed who also played one of the lead roles. The main role of Henry Simon was played by Stuart Brown. The series aired on Saturday evenings and was produced at the Herrick Merrill Studios in Johannesburg. Consider Your Verdict (1954–1985) – "it's time for you to take your place on the jury"; written and produced by Michael Silver at the CRC Studios in Johannesburg; this series started in 1954 after a run of the Australian series Famous Jury Trials; the series aired on Tuesday evenings until 1979, when it moved to Tuesday mornings; ended in June 1985 The Epic Casebook (1957–1985) – "in which Inspector Carr investigates"; the highly successful detective series, starring Hugh Rouse as Inspector Carr. It was written and produced by Michael Silver at the CRC Studios, Johannesburg. The series aired originally on Thursday evenings at 21h30, sponsored by the Epic Oil Company of S.A. In 1977 the sponsorship ended and the series was renamed "Inspector Carr Investigates" and moved to the earlier slot of 20h30. The first actor to play Inspector Carr was Don Davis, he was replaced in 1959 by Hugh Rouse. Don returned briefly in 1964 for 14 episodes. However Hugh Rouse made this series his own. A short lived television series was made by the SABC in the early 1980s with Michael McCabe, playing the famous Inspector. The transformation from radio to television was a total disaster. The series ended in June 1985 on Springbok Radio. A local Johannesburg radio station, Radio Today 1485am, tried to revive the series in 1997, copyright issues could not be cleared up and the idea was abandoned. The series is currently being rebroadcast on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Thursdays. The Sounds of Darkness (1967–1974) – "Lee Masters, the blind detective"; written by Brian O'Shaughnessy and Louis Ife; produced by Gerrie van Wyk; starring Tony Jay as Lee Masters (1967–1972), Louis Ife as Lee Masters (1973–1974), James White, Hugh Rouse and Brian O'Shaughnessy; can be heard every Tuesday on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio Squad Cars (1969–1985) – "they prowl the empty streets at night"; produced by Colin Fish and directed by David Gooden at the Sonovision Studios, Johannesburg; writers included Adrian Steed, Bev Peirce and Anthony Fridjhon; narrated by Hugh Rouse (1969), Adrian Steed (1969–1971) and Malcolm Gooding (1971–1985), and starring Dana Niehaus as Lieutenant Labuschagne. The series originally aired on Sunday evenings unsponsored. When the series "General Motors on Safari", which aired on Friday evenings came to an end in 1969, the series moved to the popular 19h30 slot on Fridays and remained there until 1979. It moved to the 20h30 slot in 1979 where it remained until June 1985 when the series came to an end. The series is currently being rebroadcast by the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Fridays. Best Sellers (1980–1985) – "featuring great works by famous authors of today and yesterday"; originally aired Monday to Friday at 9pm.; moved to the 12h30 slot in July 1985; is currently being rebroadcast on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Thursdays Springbok 930 Dossier (1980–1985) – "from the files of interesting and fascinating people"; originally aired Monday to Friday at 21h30; it moved to the 09h30 slot in July 1985; the series is currently being rebroadcast on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio and can be heard on Wednesdays