Norman Banks (broadcaster)

MBE Norman Banks
Norman Banks was a pioneer radio broadcaster of football matches – initially at 3KZ then at 3AW.
Born	Norman Tyrell Banks 12 October 1905 Sandringham, Victoria, Australia
Died	15 September 1985 (aged 79) Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Education	St Aidan's Theological College, Ballarat Ridley College (University of Melbourne)
Occupation(s)	Radio broadcaster, Television presenter
Years active	1930-1980s
Known for	Australian rules football, establishing the annual Carols by Candlelight
Awards	MBE for broadcasting Inductee Australian Football Hall of Fame Melbourne Cricket Ground (in-gallery)

Norman Tyrell Banks, MBE (12 October 1905 – 15 September 1985) was an Australian radio announcer, sports broadcaster, and television presenter. He was one of the first people to broadcast live reporting of Australian rules football. He was also a charity worker and the founder of the annual Carols by Candlelight. In later years, he was known for his strongly conservative viewpoint on Talkback Radio.

Early life

Banks was born at Sandringham, Victoria, on 12 October 1905. He had four older siblings. His father, Charles Cecil Banks, had died before Banks was born, and his mother Alice worked as a draper after her husband's death.

Banks studied at St Aidan's Theological College, Ballarat, and then at Ridley College, Melbourne, in order to become an Anglican priest. At the age of 24, he decided to seek a career outside the priesthood, leaving his training before it was completed. He got a job as a car salesman for S.A. CheneyMotors, and traveled to England and the United States representing the firm. Returning to Australia, he worked at a farm in Colac, owned by farmer Joseph Gilmore. In 1930, Banks married Gilmore's daughter, Lorna May.

Radio career: 3KZ

While in the United States, Banks gained some experience within radio broadcasting, and his mother advised him to look for jobs in that industry. He started at 3KZ (now 3KKZ or Gold 104.3 FM) in 1930 or 1931, on a salary of four pounds a week; within a month he had seen his wages rise to eight pounds a week. Over the next 20 years, Banks broadcast in Melbourne, initiating programs such as Voice of the Voyager, Voice of the People, Voice of the Business Girl, Voice of the Shopper, Husbands and Wives, Junior Information, Spelling Bee, Victoree Varieties, Myer Musicale plus "OBs" (outside broadcasts) of football, tennis, athletics, swimming and other events.

Although not the first to broadcast the Victorian Football League (VFL) (Melbourne's 3AR was broadcasting ex-Carlton player Rod McGregor's descriptions of play at least as early as 1927), Banks was one of the first football radio broadcasters. In the early days of radio, the VFL were suspicious of the new medium and feared that the spectators would react negatively on the presence of a radio broadcaster. Banks was therefore not allowed to broadcast from the grounds, but found ways of observing the games without being seen. At Princes Park, Carlton in 1931 he broadcast his first football match while standing on a ladder at the end of the dressing room. On another occasion at Princes Park, he broadcast from a hardwood plank protruding from a ladies' toilet, and Lakeside Oval he once broadcast from an 18-meter steel tower.

On VE Day 1945, Banks was assigned to report from the celebrations at the end of World War II. He had recently been in a car accident in which he was badly injured, but was able to broadcast the victory celebrations from central Melbourne.

Carols by Candlelight

On Christmas Eve 1937, Banks saw a woman listening to carols alone by the light of a candle. The image prompted him to try to organise a community event to help lonely people of this time. With much effort, Banks staged the first Carols by Candlelight in 1938. On that first night, 10,000 people gathered at midnight in the Alexandra Gardens to sing carols with a 30-strong choir, two soloists, and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Band.

Since then the event has grown dramatically to become a tradition the world over and is often a fundraiser for charitable purposes. In Melbourne, it is a fundraiser for Vision Australia.

Move to 3AW

Banks applied to 3KZ management in 1952 to be allowed leave to attend the Helsinki Olympics. Banks told the station boss that if he was not allowed to go then he would resign. His resignation was accepted on the spot.

Within a matter of days, he had signed with the rival station 3AW at about double the salary he was getting at 3KZ—what was described as a "five-figure sum". And he was allowed to go to the Helsinki Olympic Games (indeed he published his notes as The World in my diary; from Melbourne to Helsinki for the Olympic Games in 1953).

At 3AW he covered the Olympics, football, current affairs, outside broadcasts around Melbourne and in-studio programs as well. He became effectively the station's News Editor for a time. He worked at 3AW until 1978, a 26-year career.

Although Barry Jones was actually the first to talk to people live on air in Australia, Banks pioneered talkback radio in 1960.

Banks became well known on radio in the 1960s and 1970s for his strongly conservative viewpoint, including a strident defense of apartheid in South Africa, and the monarchy. These views were often played out on air in debates with the radical journalist Claudia Wright or the broadcaster Ormsby Wilkins, who called him "a sanctimonious old hypocrite". Furthermore, despite his moral conservatism and appeal to the traditional Anglo middle class, his own personal relationships were subject to press speculation. Nevertheless, he had a very large radio following.

An accident at the football, followed by another in the 3AW corridors, severely reduced his vision (bringing to an end his legendary football descriptions); his vision was so impaired that he qualified for the Australian Government's free of income and assets test Blind Pension. His final on-air words were "the humble people, the little people… for your trust, loyalty and support".

Honours

Banks was made an MBE for his services to broadcasting.

He was inducted to the Melbourne Cricket Ground's Rogues Gallery in 1998, with his citation reading—

An original football caller with 3KZ in 1931, he later moved to 3AW, combining sport and current affairs. (He) Called football for three decades. (He) Covered Helsinki and Melbourne Olympics.

In 1996 Banks was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the Media category. His citation read—

A pioneer of football broadcasts on 3AW and 3KZ. In 1931, (he) broadcast his first match from Princes Park standing on a ladder at the end of the dressing rooms. (His) Broadcasting career spanned 60 years.

References

• Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 142. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
• Australian Football Hall of Fame