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Bob Raymond
AboutBorn in 1922 in Beaudesert, Queensland, Robert (Bob) Raymond was one of five children. Early on he developed an interest and curiosity in the natural world, following his father's interests in bee-keeping and collecting bird eggs and geological specimens. Bob's attraction to the natural world was strengthened when as a young man he absorbed books by such scientific popularisers as Sir Arthur Eddington, Sir James Jeans, Julian Huxley, J.G. Crowther and J.B.S. Haldane.
After his father's death in 1934 his mother took him to England, where he finished his schooling. Bob's first job in Fleet Street was as a copy boy with the Daily Sketch. He left there and worked with Eric Baume as cable sub-editor for the Sydney Truth newspaper and later, during the war, with the ABC news bureau in Fleet Street. In 1944, as a 22-year old war correspondent for the Sydney Daily Mirror, he took part in the D-Day invasion, reporting from the bridge of a converted ferry carrying Canadian infantrymen. After the war, he wrote a regular column - a critique of the press called 'So They Say' for the New Statesman and the Nation.
Following his return to Australia in 1957, Bob joined the ABC. In 1961, together with Michael Charlton, Bob started the Four Corners programme for ABC TV where he stayed until late 1963. He supposedly left in frustration at Four Corners' then frugal production resources: just one cameraman, one sound engineer and two editors. This was also the first year of publication of Frontiers of Science.
Bob Raymond first met Professor Stuart Butler, with whom he was to establish Frontiers of Science, when Stuart was working in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. Frontiers apparently began as a conversation over lunch about how science could be popularised without being trivialised. They eventually hit on a 'true science' version of the popular comic strip format. Frontiers of Science appeared next to the likes of The Potts. Li'l Abner and Mickey Mouse: for a cartoon, the content of Frontiers was mind-blowing.
For the next 19 years Bob faithfully wrote a new set of strips each week - often in the remote locations where his work as a documentary maker took him. In his memoirs he recalls how he often tapped away on his portable typewriter on the bonnet of a LandCruiser out in the field, or drew sketches and diagrams on the overnight flight to Tokyo or London.
Commencing in late 1979 Bob was also involved in televising the Summer Science Schools held at the University of Sydney on the ATN 7 Network. During this time he met scientists Fred Hoyle, Werner von Braun, and Julius Sumner-Miller.
In late 1963, after leaving the ABC, Bob set up the Special Projects division for TCN Channel 9 establishing the first documentary unit in Australian commercial television. From 1963 to 1968 he wrote, produced and presented over 70 one-hour documentaries, covering subjects as diverse as drought, Indonesia and the Pill.
By 1969 Bob had left Channel 9 and started his own film company, Opus Films. His first series as an independent producer/director was the 13 part Shell's Australia which went to air on Channel 7 beginning in the early '70s. Other series followed such as Pelican's Progress, Out of the Fiery Furnace and Man on the Rim. Bob accompanied each of these series with a book, or as in the case of Shell's Australia, the encyclopedia of Australia's Wildlife Heritage with Vincent Serventy.
In the mid '70s Bob's controversial documentary on Fraser Island, The Last Wilderness, (part of the Shell's Australia series) is said to have helped the Australian government decide to end sandmining on the island, which is now a declared World Heritage site.
Bob won at least half a dozen TV Logies. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1998 for his contribution to the media and to the television industry, particularly as a director and producer of television documentaries and public affairs programmes. He was appointed to the Board of the ABC in 1983 and in 2003, received a Doctorate of Letters (honoris causa) from the University of Sydney. Bob died in September 2003.Date of Birth1922Date of DeathSeptember 2003RoleJournalist
After his father's death in 1934 his mother took him to England, where he finished his schooling. Bob's first job in Fleet Street was as a copy boy with the Daily Sketch. He left there and worked with Eric Baume as cable sub-editor for the Sydney Truth newspaper and later, during the war, with the ABC news bureau in Fleet Street. In 1944, as a 22-year old war correspondent for the Sydney Daily Mirror, he took part in the D-Day invasion, reporting from the bridge of a converted ferry carrying Canadian infantrymen. After the war, he wrote a regular column - a critique of the press called 'So They Say' for the New Statesman and the Nation.
Following his return to Australia in 1957, Bob joined the ABC. In 1961, together with Michael Charlton, Bob started the Four Corners programme for ABC TV where he stayed until late 1963. He supposedly left in frustration at Four Corners' then frugal production resources: just one cameraman, one sound engineer and two editors. This was also the first year of publication of Frontiers of Science.
Bob Raymond first met Professor Stuart Butler, with whom he was to establish Frontiers of Science, when Stuart was working in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. Frontiers apparently began as a conversation over lunch about how science could be popularised without being trivialised. They eventually hit on a 'true science' version of the popular comic strip format. Frontiers of Science appeared next to the likes of The Potts. Li'l Abner and Mickey Mouse: for a cartoon, the content of Frontiers was mind-blowing.
For the next 19 years Bob faithfully wrote a new set of strips each week - often in the remote locations where his work as a documentary maker took him. In his memoirs he recalls how he often tapped away on his portable typewriter on the bonnet of a LandCruiser out in the field, or drew sketches and diagrams on the overnight flight to Tokyo or London.
Commencing in late 1979 Bob was also involved in televising the Summer Science Schools held at the University of Sydney on the ATN 7 Network. During this time he met scientists Fred Hoyle, Werner von Braun, and Julius Sumner-Miller.
In late 1963, after leaving the ABC, Bob set up the Special Projects division for TCN Channel 9 establishing the first documentary unit in Australian commercial television. From 1963 to 1968 he wrote, produced and presented over 70 one-hour documentaries, covering subjects as diverse as drought, Indonesia and the Pill.
By 1969 Bob had left Channel 9 and started his own film company, Opus Films. His first series as an independent producer/director was the 13 part Shell's Australia which went to air on Channel 7 beginning in the early '70s. Other series followed such as Pelican's Progress, Out of the Fiery Furnace and Man on the Rim. Bob accompanied each of these series with a book, or as in the case of Shell's Australia, the encyclopedia of Australia's Wildlife Heritage with Vincent Serventy.
In the mid '70s Bob's controversial documentary on Fraser Island, The Last Wilderness, (part of the Shell's Australia series) is said to have helped the Australian government decide to end sandmining on the island, which is now a declared World Heritage site.
Bob won at least half a dozen TV Logies. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1998 for his contribution to the media and to the television industry, particularly as a director and producer of television documentaries and public affairs programmes. He was appointed to the Board of the ABC in 1983 and in 2003, received a Doctorate of Letters (honoris causa) from the University of Sydney. Bob died in September 2003.Date of Birth1922Date of DeathSeptember 2003RoleJournalist
Collection
Bob Raymond. University of Sydney Library, accessed 04/11/2024, https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/6872