The National Film and Sound Archive is launching a new digital exhibition to celebrate 100 years of radio in Australia, reports TARA COSOLETO.

AUSTRALIA’S earliest surviving live radio broadcast will be replayed close to a century on as part of a new exhibition from the National Film and Sound Archive.

The Radio 100 digital exhibition will open on Thursday to kickstart a 100-day celebration of Australian radio’s centenary.

The first licensed radio broadcast in Australia happened on November 23, 1923, when Sydney station 2SB broadcast “The Swan” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals”.

That broadcast has not survived, but a series of comedy radio sketches from 1926, a live call of the 1932 Melbourne Cup and a 1930s broadcast of a boxing match between Teddy Lawler and Taffy Jones all have.

The decades-old programs are being featured as part of the Radio 100 exhibition.

“Radio has been one of the primary Australian cultural forces of the past century,” the archive’s chief executive Patrick McIntyre said.

“Our curators have done an incredible job sifting through the collection to bring together all the stories of cultural, commercial and technological innovation that have powered our distinctive radio industry.”

From December 13, another chapter of radio will be released in the exhibition, featuring the golden days of the 1920s to the 1960s.

In January and February, more decades of audio will be showcased, from the “youthquake” of the ’70s and ’80s to the recent rebirth of audio.

Chief curator Gayle Lake said Radio 100 was a chance for all Australians to revisit historic moments in history and explore the shaping of culture through media.

“From hearing breaking news in childhood to making your first mixtape, from finding the music that connected you with your friends to discovering your favourite podcast community – radio has truly been the soundtrack to so many lives,” Ms Lake said.

The National Film and Sound Archive is also asking Australians to record a voice memo or leave a note to share their most prized radio memories at nfsa.gov.au/RadioMemories