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A Thousand Years on a shoestring

"Across Australia, you're listening to Radio National."

Listeners to that network can always expect to be taken across the world, and on New Year's Eve they also went on a journey across the centuries, all ten of the second millennium, in a daring and glorious feat of broadcasting: A Thousand Years in a Day. The ABC's finest hour - or 15 hours? - a grand parade of dedicated talent from the most precious of our cultural institutions.

'The BBC's network of local and regional stations was given a million dollars for a Millennium Project "capturing the lives of British people over the past century" and generating more than 600 programs.

A Thousand Years in a Day was done on no budget, in 40 people's spare time: a thousand years on a shoestring. A group of them thought up the idea early in 1999, and Stephen Crittenden, executive producer Religion, took on the job of co-ordinating a project quite different from what they knew ABC TV and the Nine Network were planning. "We wanted to do something momentous that captured the scale of it all." He wanted, more specifically, to convey the depth and breadth of history to a generation who for one reason and another were losing their sense of the past.'

Ken Inglis, author of This is the ABC.In Eureka Street March 2000

Familiar RN voices presented different centuries, bringing in enthusiastic historians and others from around the globe. Norman Swan gave a horrendous Health Report on the Black Death in the 14th century. Kirsten Garrett made the startling proposal that the most important date in Australian history may well be 1433, when the Chinese empire abandoned its navy to cut itself off from the rest of the world, removing the possibility that Australia could have been settled by the Chinese.

We learn that Cortez brought back syphilis from the New World and hear a roll call of famous syphilitics. Women were given their rightful role in history with, among others, Anna Lanyon's account of Cortez' guide, interpreter and lover the Amerindian woman Malinche, and Rebecca Gorman's report on the 12th century through the life not of Henry II but of his wife, the redoubtable Eleanor of Aquitane.

Back to Ken Inglis' piece, where he writes: 'St Francis of Assisi, by a former head of the Franciscan order in Australia who ... gives us the saint's message for our time, which might have him branded by the Institute of Public Affairs a typical RN lefty: champion of the frail, opponent of consumerism, concerned for all creation, not just humanity.'

Terry Lane asks which was the more important event of 1770 - James Cook's discovery of NSW or the birth of Beethoven? Justice Michael Kirby and Geoffrey Robertson argue on the justice of the trial of Charles I. Beguiling, lively, enthusiastic voices: academics wearing their learning lightly. And marvellous music from across the centuries.

The ABC - serving the community

The second week in May was another NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK. Those who tune in to ABC television, radio or online will be aware of an incredible range of more than 1000 events that continued throughout May to take science out of the laboratory into the community.

As well as the plethora of programs broadcast on radio, television and online, the ABC was involved in many events which are open to the public but don't go on air. One of these is Science in The Pub. The presenters Bernie Hobbs, Paul Willis and Wilson da Silva fly off with assorted boffins to visit outback towns and chat science over a beer or five.

OUTBACK REVIVAL, an ABC Forum, was held at Longreach QLD in August last year. Its purpose was to discuss ways of bringing new life to the outback. More than 180 people attended, including Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson. The initiatives from that forum should reverberate through the outback for a long time.

TRIPLE J SPREADS THE MESSAGE OF MIRABEL The Mirabel Foundation helps children whose lives have been affected by parents using illicit drugs and, in many instances, by the death of a parent. Last September JJJ threw its weight behind Mirabel as part of its annual Real Appeal, featuring interviews and stories about the organisation. Over one weekend guest celebrities - including Mikey Robbins, HG Nelson and the Sandman (who streaked - on radio?) - manned the phones at JJJ to take donations. The appeal raised $300,000 and many offers of goods and services.

AUSTRALIAN STORY When Deanne Kelly, federal MP for Mackay, heard about a projected trip to WWI battlefields in Europe by students of North Mackay High School in Queensland, she suggested it would make a good 'Australian Story'.

The ABC visited the school and filmed the group, lent them a digital video camera and sent a team from London to film with them for two days around Villers Bretonneux. This Australian Story was broadcast on Channel 2 on 4 November '99.