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The 9pm Hometown Visit to Gawler

Looking across the street at two classic Victorian-era civic buildings. On the left is a two-storey stone building, three windows wide, with a portico at the front finished in white plaster. Across the top it reads INSTITUTE and on the facade there’s the text “In Memoriam 1914 - 1918”. On the right is a shorter but similar building, with a terrace on top of its portico, and a row of four flagpoles. The flags are limp because there’s no wind, and they can’t be recognised. On the top of the facade is a set of arms (featuring a hawk, wheat, and lion, but drawn incorrectly), and the words TOWN HALL. In between them is a hint of modern architecture, namely the glass entry to a new building behind these two. The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy clouds.
The Gawler Institute building (1871) and the Gawler Town Hall (1878), photographed on 29 June 2025. On the town hall the arms are drawn incorrectly (PDF). (Photo: Stilgherrian)

Today’s episode is a bit different. It’s more personal. I, Stilgherrian, was born in Gawler, South Australia, and lived there from ages 11 to about 17. Last year I visited the town with my good friend Snarky Platypus, and he asked me some pertinent questions.

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The 9pm David Attenborough from 1984

Photograph of an audio cassette in its plastic case. A handwritten insert reads “Science journal 29.8.84 84/35” and then a list of the program items. (See later on the web page.) On the right-hand side is a the scan of a scratched-up black and white photo, with 35mm film sprocket holes. It’s a hotel room. A middle-aged white man in a grey suit sits on the couch with his elbows on the coffee table. He looks very tired. In the foreground, out of focus, the hands of someone off-camera load a reel of quarter-inch tape onto a Nagra recorder. Conversation is imminent.
An audio cassette recording of Science Journal 84/35 from 1984. (Photo: Stilgherrian) Inset: David Attenborough, seen in 1984. (Photo: Robin Goodfellow.)

Something different to kick off the mid-2026 series. Just two days ago, on the 8th of May, Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 100th birthday. As it happens, way back in 1984, I interviewed him when he was just Mr Attenborough, and here is that interview.

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The 9pm Celebrity Superstar Experience on the River Kwai with Mark Humphries

Mark Humphries is lost in the foyer of the ABC’s headquarters in Ultimo, Sydney, becoming easy prey for the ever more aggressive B1 and B2 (not shown). (Photo: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The winter series of The 9pm Edict continues with another very special guest, satirist Mark Humphries. We met up on Bastille Day. We retreated to an upstairs bar. This delightfully rambling conversation was the result. 

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