Bill Bunbury
Bill Bunbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Hedley Richardson Bunbury October 7, 1940 Glastonbury, England |
| Occupation(s) | Radio broadcaster, producer, historian, author |
| Years active | 1969–2007 (ABC), post-2007 (community radio projects) |
| Known for | Radio broadcasting with ABC, oral history archive at Battye Library, Indigenous Australian history |
| Notable work | Timber for Gold, Unfinished Business: Reconciliation, the Republic and the Constitution, Cyclone Tracy: Picking Up the Pieces |
William Hedley Richardson Bunbury (born 7 October 1940 in Glastonbury, England), commonly known as Bill Bunbury, is a retired radio broadcaster and producer formerly with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as a distinguished historian and author.
Early life
Born to an Australian father and an English mother in Glastonbury, England, Bunbury completed his degree with honours at the University of Durham in 1963 before relocating to Australia. After a short period working as a farm labourer in Broomehill, Western Australia, he took up a position teaching English at Guildford Grammar School in Perth. His encounter with an ABC television crew led to a recommendation that secured him a role within the ABC's Education unit, which he commenced in May 1969.
Career
Bunbury’s career at the ABC began in radio and subsequently transitioned to television, where he hosted the children’s show Here in the West. During his investigations into local communities, he created a well-received radio documentary about Group Settlers in Denmark, Western Australia. This success prompted him to dedicate himself fully to radio production, developing series such as LIVING HISTORY.
In 1985, he became part of the ABC’s social history unit established by Tim Bowden. There, Bunbury produced several prominent programs including Background Briefing, Hindsight, Verbatim, Street Stories, and Encounter. He concluded his tenure with the ABC in 2007, choosing to retire while maintaining high standards in his work.
Following his departure from the ABC, Bunbury partnered with Community Arts WA on radio initiatives that promoted Aboriginal storytelling and hosted VoicePrints for the Perth International Arts Festival. His documentaries have explored subjects such as Cyclone Tracy, Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, and the campaign for equal wages for Aboriginal stockmen. A significant focus of his work has been on Indigenous Australian history.
Bunbury’s achievements have been recognised through numerous awards, including the NSW Premier's Media Prize (1996) for UNFINISHED BUSINESS - RECONCILIATION & THE REPUBLIC, a Gold Medal at the New York Radio Festival for Best History Documentary with Timber for Gold, and the United Nations Australia Peace Prize for The War Rages On, which examined Australians’ experiences during Vietnam.
His comprehensive collection of oral histories constitutes an important archive housed at Western Australia's Battye Library, safeguarding critical aspects of the state’s heritage. Journalist Andre Malan has identified this archive as Bunbury’s enduring contribution.
In addition to broadcasting, Bunbury has published extensively through Fremantle Press and UWA Publishing. He holds an adjunct professorship in History and Media at Murdoch University and was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate in Literature there in 2008 in recognition of his impact on broadcasting and historical scholarship.
Bill Bunbury was appointed to the Order of Australia in 2017 for his dedication to broadcasting and support of Aboriginal communities.
Personal life
Residing in Margaret River with his wife Jenny, Bunbury is a father of two daughters and grandfather to two grandsons. On Australia Day 2017, he received the Order of Australia award acknowledging his contributions to broadcast media and Indigenous Australians.
Published works
- Bunbury, Jenny & Bunbury, Jill (2024) Settlement, Struggle and Success: Margaret River and its Old Hospital, 1924-2024, UWA Publishing, Crawley, WA, ISBN 978-1-76080-276-9
- Bunbury, Bill & Bunbury, Jenny (2020) Many Maps, Charting Two Cultures: First Nations and Europeans in Western Australia, UWA Publishing, Crawley, WA, ISBN 978-1-76080-141-0
- Bunbury, Bill (2015) INVISIBLE COUNTRY South-West Australia: Understanding a Landscape, UWA Press, Crawley, WA, ISBN 978-1-74258-625-0
- Bunbury, Bill & Bunbury, Jenny (2015) Sound of the Cockies, Perenjori: One Hundred Years of Stories, Shire of Perenjori, ISBN 9780646936918
- Bunbury, Bill (2010) Till the Stream Runs Dry: A History of Hydrography in Western Australia, Department of Water WA, ISBN 978-1-921789-38-0
- Bunbury, Bill (2006) Caught in Time: Talking Australian History, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-921064-84-6
- Bunbury, Bill (2002) It's Not the Money It's the Land: Aboriginal Stockmen and the Equal Wages Case / Talking History with Bill Bunbury, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, North Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-86368-366-6
- Bunbury, Bill (2002) Timber for Gold: Life on the Goldfields Woodlines / Talking History with Bill Bunbury, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, North Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-86368-372-0
- Bunbury, Bill (1998) Unfinished Business: Reconciliation, the Republic and the Constitution, ABC Books, Sydney, ISBN 0-7333-0650-0
- Bunbury, Bill (1995) Rabbits & Spaghetti: Captives and Comrades—Australians, Italians and the War 1939–1945 / Talking History with Bill Bunbury, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-86368-122-1
- Bunbury, Bill (1994) Cyclone Tracy: Picking Up the Pieces / Talking History with Bill Bunbury, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, South Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-86368-112-4
- Bunbury, Bill We'd Lost All Four Engines
- Bunbury, Bill (1993) Rag, Sticks & Wire: Australians Taking to the Air, ABC Books, Sydney, ISBN 0-7333-0273-4
- Bunbury, Bill (1993) Reading Labels on Jam Tins: Living Through Difficult Times, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, South Fremantle, WA, ISBN 1-86368-031-4
- Bowden, Ros & Bunbury, Bill (1990) Being Aboriginal: Comments and Stories from Aboriginal Australians / From ABC Radio Programs by Ros Bowden and Bill Bunbury, ABC Enterprises, Sydney, ISBN 0-7333-0023-5