History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Columns/Magic Spark NSW

The "Magic Spark" column in Sydney's "Evening News" newspaper commenced Saturday 28 January 1922 and ran until Saturday 12 July 1924. It is thought to have been the first newspaper column devoted to wireless in Australia, though this needs to be confirmed by further research. The timing of the commencement of the column was at least fortuitous. The earliest columns highlighted the restrictive licensing practices of the day, especially in respect of amateur "experimental" transmitting licences; encouraged readers to write to their local members of parliament seeking relaxation of such provisions; and promoted the newish science of radio telegraphy and radio telephony. Its campaign (and those of others, especially the various State Divisions of the Wireless Institute of Australia) soon bore fruit with the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 1922 legislative instrument. The publication period extended across the Wireless Regulations 1923 and oddly came to a conclusion around the time of the Wireless Regulations 1924. Anecdotally, the popularity of the column spread far beyond the traditional readership of the "Evening News" and today the column is highly regarded by radio historians.

Research to date has not revealed the author(s) of the column, but the consistency of style and purpose is indicative of a single author and this is supported by the consistent use of the nom de plume of "Dot Dash". In the final weeks of the column in mid-1924 the nom de plume became "Catwhisker" signalling a new author and indeed, an announcement in the column of 19 July 1924 indicated that henceforth the "Magic Spark" column would be printed every Monday.

The phrase "Magic Spark" was not widely used within Australia (or elsewhere in the world) prior to the advent of the "Magic Spark" newspaper column. In 1909 a work of prose by E. Francis "The Flying Word" published in the Bulletin, pays tribute to wireless telegraphy in the rescue of passengers and crew following the collision between the Republic and the Florida:

But that white, crackling spark that leaps, Across Infinity, No pole-strung, copper highway keeps — It flies o’er land and sea. The racing liner, out of sight, Beyond the world’s grey rim, Flings back across the rolling night, The message gay or grim; The cry for help, the last good-bye, Ride on the magic spark, That, ghost-like, flies beneath the sky, And scorns the groping dark.

An article article in 1912 about the litigation between the Maritime Wireless Company and Australasian Wireless Co relating to alleged breach of wireless patents was headed "Magic Spark". There are scattered references to the phrase in various contexts from the late 1800s, particularly in respect of developments in electricity and electrical lighting. Following the success of the column, in 1922 and 1923, the Marconi School of Wireless, owned and operated by Amalgamated Wireless Australasia, adopted the phrase as a heading for many of its advertisements in the Sydney Evening News. But once the "Magic Spark" column retreated into oblivion, so too did the use of the phrase.

Prolific author Robert Rowan Walker revitalised the phrase "Magic Spark" for the title of his excellent 192 page book "The Magic Spark, Fifty Years of Radio in Australia". Unfortunately he did not credit the Magic Spark column, despite the phrase undoubtedly deriving from that source.

Resources

A comprehensive summary of matters pertaining to the Magic Spark Column NSW has not yet been prepared, however the following resources have been assembled in preparation:

• Research - Magic Spark Column NSW - Summary of research to date

• Transcriptions and Notes - Magic Spark Column NSW - More than 130 transcriptions of entire columns (out of a total of more than 130 columns) and notes, primarily from the NLA's Trove, all identified to date and tagged "Magic Spark Column NSW"

Columns where little able to be transcribed:

1922 09 30

1923 01 27

• Photos and other graphics - Magic Spark Column NSW - Nothing uploaded as yet, no material identified as yet

• Incubator of Wikipedia Article on Magic Spark Column NSW - Coming real soon now!