How Keith Conlon made Postcards into a beloved South Australian TV travel show

IT started as a small eight-part TV series — but Postcards ended up running for 15 years, won our hearts and gave Keith Conlon the name of Mr South Australia.

WHAT started out as just a small eight-part television series to highlight the various regions of South Australia ended up running for 15 years, collected three SA Tourism Awards and won a place in the SA Tourism Hall of Fame.

Postcards also won a place in the hearts and minds of viewers of Sunday afternoon TV, with hundreds of thousands tuning in each week to hear stories and yarns about their own state, city and country towns.

And it created a new moniker for one of Adelaide’s most recognised media personalities, Keith Conlon, who became known as ‘Mr South Australia’.

Keith Conlon pictured as Postcards was about to air its final show.

“Most people, including Channel 9, thought of it as a travel show but in fact it was a show about people, people who were passionate about SA, what it was and what it is,” he says.

“I like to think it was a window into the soul of SA. Sure, there are fascinating stories to be told but it was mostly about people.”

Keith says that for 15 years, the only rule was the show was not to go outside the state’s borders. The exceptions were stories on Adelaide’s sister cities of Austin, Christchurch and George Town in Malaysia, and one on the Murray.

“Everything else was our own little patch; it was all about our state,” he says.

“It really began because the owner of Channel 9, John Lamb, was made chairman of SA Tourism Commission and thought that the station should probably do something, so they tried this little eight-part series.

“I was put in as the host, just to front the show but was asked to suggest somewhere interesting to begin the first program and I suggested the Gilberton swing bridge, so my very first yarn on Postcards was the story of the Gilberton swing bridge”.

Keith started his media career in 1968 as a researcher for the Bob Francis talk show on Radio 5AD, and together with Joan Bullock and Angela Stacey, helped “Big Bob” through his transition from music DJ to talk personality.

Keith Conlon with Bob Francis, Joan Bullock and Angela Stacey in 1968.

“Talk radio was brand new in those days and Bob really didn’t have a clue what he was doing — not that that stopped him,” Keith laughs.

Within a couple of years, Keith had his own daily talk show but in 1972 was lured into managing the first community-licensed radio station in South Australia, Radio 5UV, for the University of Adelaide.

“That lasted for 12 years and then I got my first job on the telly in current affairs and news with State Affair in 1984,” he says.

“I did three-and-a-half years on what was a really popular program.”

There followed stints on both ABC radio and television before Postcards started in 1995.

“I’d been interested in history in my school days and particularly through university,” Keith says.

“In fact, I believe my Postcards preparation started many years beforehand in the back of my parents’ Morris 840, going camping with Mum and Dad and with the tent on top of the car.

“They loved the land and old things. We would stop and visit museums and places of interest, so I got that real sense of SA.”

Keith Conlon holding the book ‘Postcards: A Few of Our Favourites’.

Keith recalls that when the program launched, the internet was just beginning.

There was no Google searching, so he would spend half his week in the State Library “just digging through old stuff” to make into stories.

“Then there was the new stuff that would come along; there was always so much going on, so many stories,” he says.

“And that’s the other thing: SA is just such a unique region. It stretches, in European terms, from somewhere in the Sahara Desert all the way up to the English Channel, but with its own distinctive landscapes and all the climate changes in between.

“It’s a vast tapestry of many colours and moods”.

I asked Keith to recall his favourite story or a highlight of all the episodes over the show’s 15-year run.

“You can’t ask me that question — it’s too hard. That’s like choosing one child over another, but I’d have to say the stories I enjoyed doing the most were of places that you’d never see in a travel brochure, where I learned more about the past and the present — they were the most fun,” he says.

As Postcards continued its very successful run on television, in 2000 Keith was asked to join another radio legend, Tony Pilkington, to co-host the breakfast program on Radio FIVEaa.

“That was a very busy time,” he recalls.

Keith at Cleland Wildlife Park with a koala.

“On air very early, five days a week, and shooting segments for the TV show in the afternoon.”

Postcards finished its run in 2010, much to the dismay of the many fans and regular followers all around the state, and Keith announced his retirement from the FIVEaa Breakfast Show in 2013.

“Nowadays, I’m looking after the heritage of SA rather than just promoting it, as chair of the Heritage Council of SA,” he says.

“The Heritage Council started in the late ’70s and that came in because we were knocking too many buildings down and the community reacted, so then the government reacted.

“We report to the minister and advise him on what sort of things are happening, look after our older buildings, making sure they are used, and heritage tourism is a big topic also, so it’s a fantastic task.

“And I take a bike ride out every Wednesday morning; it’s called Ride with Keith.

“It’s a City of Adelaide Active program, a bike club with no rules, but there will be a story every time, guaranteed.”

Happy days

I’ll be joining Keith in conversation today on Monday, May 14 at 10am at the Drill Hall, Torrens Parade Ground, Victoria Dr, Adelaide, as we share our memories of days past in Adelaide — and you’re quite welcome to join us.

Admission is $5 and proceeds go to Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, celebrating 25 years of fundraising for the Cancer Council.

Bob Byrne is the author of Adelaide Remember When and posts memories of Adelaide every day on facebook.com/adelaiderememberwhen