Veteran ABC radio presenter and journalist David Bevan calls time on his radio career

Veteran radio presenter and journalist David Bevan has called time on his radio career, announcing the date he will step away from the ABC.

Veteran radio presenter and journalist David Bevan has called time on his radio career.

Joining the 891 Adelaide Breakfast radio show on Tuesday morning with Sonya Feldhoff and Jules Schiller, Bevan said he was ready to retire.

After speculation mounted on Monday the senior ABC presenter would announce his retirement, Bevan told the breakfast radio audience his last day would be December 13.

“It’s Friday the 13th, so nothing could possibly go wrong,” he said.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to sit in this room every weekday for the last 24 years … but it’s time to say goodbye.”

ABC Radio Adelaide's Mornings Presenter David Bevan. (AAP Image/ Morgan Sette)

Best known for his 15-year on-air partnership with Matthew Abraham – who himself quit the ABC in 2017 – Bevan was also the network’s state political reporter for South Australia and previously covered the court beat for The Advertiser.

Abraham joined the radio program on Tuesday morning as callers begin to pay tribute to the popular presenter who praised his hard-hitting interviewing style.

Bevan started his career in the late 1980s career with the ABC in 1986 as a cadet and had a stint with The Advertiser before returning to the ABC in 1993.

ABC radio's Matthew Abraham and David Bevan, at ABC studios in Collinswood.

In 2000 he began producing 891 ABC Radio Adelaide Drive and co-hosted Mornings with Philip Satchell in 2001.

In 2002 he was joined by Matthew Abraham on Mornings before they took over Breakfast in 2011.

Since 2017, Bevan has hosted Adelaide Mornings on ABC by himself from 9-11am.

Bevan listed reporting on the toppling of Premier Dean Brown – who lost a leadership challenge to John Olsen in November 1996 in a late-night party coup – and the September 11 attacks as memorable moments.

“I’ll never forget the phone call from my manager Graeme Bennett at 4am after the September 11 attacks.

“He said, David, I think you’ll need to be in early, some aircraft have flown into the World Trade Centre in New York.”

ABC Radio SA manager Graeme Bennett said Bevan had built a “unique and enduring legacy” with audiences.

“His fearless interviewing and unrivalled analysis of South Australian politics has been a hallmark of what we strive to bring our listeners every day,” he said.

“No doubt those audiences will be disappointed by this news, but can be reassured that what David has worked so hard to create will remain a central theme of our coverage of SA politics in the years ahead.”

Originally published as Veteran ABC radio presenter and journalist David Bevan calls time on his radio career