Hugh Cornish, Brisbane’s ‘Mr Television’, dies aged 90

The first person to appear on Queensland television screens, Hugh Cornish AM, has died at a nursing home in Hamilton, Brisbane, aged 90.

A major figure in television and the arts in the state, Cornish began his career as an announcer at 4IP in Ipswich, played piano at 4BH, and made history in 1959 as the first person to appear on the newly launched QTQ-9.

In the 1960s he hosted a variety show, Brisbane Tonight, and would go on to front a talent show, Stairway to the Stars, in the 1970s. He later became an executive at Channel Nine and at Seven.

Hugh Cornish was the first person to appear on TV in Queensland.Credit: Nine

Managing director of Nine Queensland Kylie Blucher said that Cornish was a cherished figure whose contributions shaped Queensland’s media landscape.

“His face and voice became a trusted presence in countless homes, and for decades, he brought warmth, professionalism, and dedication to Channel Nine’s screen,” Blucher said in an internal Nine memo.

Cornish is remembered as a gentleman and a talent who fostered other talents.Credit: Nine

Media commentator Brett Debritz said Cornish was “Mr Television” to a generation of viewers.

“Everybody who grew up in the sixties and seventies knew his face … He was the guy who brought local current affairs to Channel Nine, and he was also an entertainer,” he said.

“A lot of people owe their careers to him.”

Cornish was active in the arts, with stints working at the Queensland Arts Council, the Queensland Orchestra, and on the board of QPAC and the Gold Coast Arts Centre (now HOTA).

For the Commonwealth Games in 1982, Cornish produced a Royal Command Performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Brisbane. He was also a recording artist, releasing several albums.

Named a Queensland Great in 2004, Cornish spent his later years at a retirement village in Victoria Point where in 2013 he and other residents published a nude calendar raising money for charity.

Debritz said there was no recording of Cornish’s history-making QTQ-9 broadcast in 1959.

“He didn’t actually remember what he said, but he said it was something like, ‘Welcome to television,’” Debritz said.

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