Victoria Bitter’s classic ‘Big cold beer’ spot via George Patterson added to National Film + Sound Archive’s ‘Sounds of Australia’ collection

Victoria Bitter’s iconic ‘Big cold beer’ commercial, created by George Patterson for Carlton & United Breweries in 1968, voiced by Australian character actor and voiceover artist John Meillon, is one of 10 extraordinary audio recordings that have been added to the National Film & Sound Archive’s unique Sounds of Australia collection.

 

Established in 2007, Sounds of Australia is the NFSA’s annual collection of sound recordings with cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance, which inform or reflect life in Australia. Nominations from the public, of recordings that are at least 10 years old, are voted on by a panel of industry and NFSA sound experts.

The Victoria Bitter spot is perhaps Australia’s most iconic beer commercial. Initially conceived by George Patterson Sydney creative director Bruce Jarrett for Carlton & United Breweries’ (CUB) Bulimba Gold Top beer campaign in 1965, the radio and TV campaign was reworked by George Patterson Melbourne creative director Colin Fraser for CUB’s Victoria Bitter in 1967 ~ Fraser fine-tuned Jarrett’s copy to the classic, ‘A hard-earned thirst needs a big cold beer… and the best cold beer is Vic,’ ~ for broadcast in 1968 with John Meillon (pictured above) returning for the voiceovers, and a new version of the instrumental music composed by Bob (Beetles) Young. With his rich baritone and honest and passionate delivery, the Meillon voice was integral to the success of the campaign. The campaign was used, with some minor variations, continuously for the next two decades, when in 1989, at the age of 55, Meillon passed away. With the approval of the Meillon family, CUB continued to use his voice through digital remastering and recutting for decades to come.

PLAY THE VB ADVERTISEMENT BELOW:

 

The 2024 Sounds of Australia, in chronological order, are:

Women’s status in the United Nations Charter: an address to the first meeting of the Women’s International Radio League, Jessie Street – 1945
Speaking clock, Gordon Gow (Postmaster General’s Department) – 1954
Doctor Who theme music, Ron Grainer (composer), Delia Derbyshire (musician) – 1963
Victoria Bitter ad, John Meillon (voice), George Patterson (agency), for Carlton & United Breweries – 1968
Jimmie Barker Collections, Jimmie Barker – 1972
The earliest 2EA (now SBS Audio) broadcast recordings in language – 1975
‘Kickin’ to the Undersound’, Sound Unlimited – 1992
‘Chains’, Tina Arena – 1994
Last call of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi) – 2009
Nova Peris’ inaugural speech to Australian Parliament – 2013

‘These new additions to the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia capsule, ranging from landmark speeches to iconic theme music, from enduring pop to the sad, final call of a now-extinct species, are collectively a testament to the power of audio,’ said Meagan Loader, the NFSA’s Chief Curator. ‘It’s very meaningful to be able to preserve this diversity of content so that future generations will be able to understand and appreciate the sounds and their stories that resonated with Australians in 2024.’

The National Film and Sound Archive collects sound recordings for inclusion in Australia’s audiovisual archive year-round, creating a continuous record of Australian culture. The national audio collection contains more than 300,000 items.

The NFSA’s work to preserve fragile audio has led to the digitisation of more than 100,000 at-risk pieces. The complete Sounds of Australia list (1896-2013) is available at nfsa.gov.au/sounds (live from December 11, 2024).

The other nine Sounds of Australia 2024 are:

Women’s status in the United Nations Charter: an address to the first meeting of the Women’s International Radio League, Jessie Street  – 28 May 1945  

Jessie Street (1889-1970) was a leading Australian feminist campaigning for women’s rights from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was the only female Australian delegate at the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco (the UN Conference on International Organisation (UNCIO)) in 1945. In this recording, we hear a speech made by Street at the first meeting of the Women’s International Radio League (WIRL) at the St Francis Hotel San Francisco. Abby Morrison Ricker, President of the WIRL introduces Jessie Street, before Street describes the work of the Australian Women’s Charter Committee, and her work at UNCIO with other women, to secure the insertion of the word ‘sex’ in the clause ‘without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion’ wherever it occurs in the Charter of the United Nations. It is unknown if this recording was ever broadcast in Australia. The recording was most probably associated with an American radio broadcast.

Speaking clock, Gordon Gow (Postmaster General’s Department) – 1954  

The speaking clock, also known as the talking clock, was a live or recorded human voice service accessed by telephone, that gave the correct time. In 1953, the Postmaster General’s (PMG) Department established an operator-based system on the number 1194 (with live voices giving the time around the clock). In 1954, it was automated, when the PMG acquired two British Post Office Mark II Optical Disc Systems, which were installed in Melbourne and Sydney. This mechanical speaking clock used rotating glass discs with voice recordings of different parts of the time recorded on a series of hours, minutes, seconds, and preamble discs. ABC Radio broadcaster, journalist, and actor Gordon Gow provided the voice. Speaking clock systems were subsequently implemented in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane before the final system, co-developed by Telecom Research Laboratories and the German Assmann Company, rolled out nationally in 1990. After 66 years, Telstra called time on its Speaking Clock service at midnight on October 1, 2019. A web-based simulation was created by musician Ryan Monro the day it was shut down at 1194online.com.

Doctor Who theme, Ron Grainer (composer), Delia Derbyshire (musician and arranger) – 1963  

The Doctor Who theme for the BBC TV series of the same name, was written by Australian composer Ron Grainer (1922-1981) and realised by English musician Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001) at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It is believed to be the first electronic music theme for television. Grainer spent most of his professional career in the UK and is mostly remembered for his television and film scores, especially the theme music for Maigret, Doctor Who, The Prisoner, Steptoe and Son, and Tales of the Unexpected.

Derbyshire, who realised Grainer’s score, created each note individually using musique concrète techniques: cutting, splicing, speeding and slowing segments of analogue tape recordings of white noise, a test-tone oscillator, and a single plucked string. At the same time, Brian Hodgson created the sound effects for the Doctor’s TARDIS, which features at the beginning of the theme. The 1963 arrangement served, with only minor edits, as the theme music until 1980. While numerous arrangements of the theme have subsequently been used for Doctor Who, Grainer’s melody has remained the same. The theme has been remixed, sampled, and covered many times since its creation, from Pink Floyd’s ‘Embryo’ (1971) to the Australian band FourPlay String Quartet in 1998.

Jimmie Barker Collections, Jimmie Barker – 1968-1972  

The first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian to use recorded sound as a tool to preserve and document Aboriginal culture, Jimmie Barker’s pioneering work produced more than 100 hours of audio recordings across 21 collections, now preserved by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). Muruwari man Jimmie Barker (1900-1972) grew up on Mundiwa, an Aboriginal reservation on the Culgoa River, before moving to Milroy, a sheep station, with his mother Maggie and younger brother Billy. It was at Milroy that Barker undertook experiments in electricity generation and sound recording. In the late 1960s, a recording project was initiated with Barker by Janet Mathews, with funding from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS), later AIATSIS, to provide recording equipment and consumables. Many of Jimmie’s recordings include detailed descriptions of, and reflections on, what he often refers to as ‘the old ways’. They represent a crucial link with pre-colonial Muruwari and Ngemba culture. For a detailed history of these collections, see AIATSIS’ Pretty Little Lines online exhibition.

Earliest 2EA broadcast recordings in language – June-August 1975  

The earliest extant in-language broadcasts by 2EA (then SBS Radio, now SBS Audio), including Arabic, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Spanish, and Yugoslav programs, represent the birth of multilingual and multicultural broadcasting on Australian radio. 2EA began broadcasting on 9 June 1975, with EA standing for Ethnic Australia. It was opened in Sydney by Al Grassby, former Minister for Immigration, with the first broadcast in Greek. Later that month, 3EA opened in Melbourne. The initial purpose of the stations was to inform multilingual communities about proposed changes in the healthcare system brought by the new Medibank scheme. During 1977, programming and language coverage grew to 119 hours per week in 33 languages on 2EA and 103 hours per week in 22 languages on 3EA. As SBS celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, it continues to inform, educate and entertain all Australians in more than 60 languages.

‘Kickin’ to the Undersound,’ Sound Unlimited – 1992 

‘Kickin’ to the Undersound’ was the first single released by Sound Unlimited from their debut studio album ‘A Postcard from the Edge of the Under-side’ (1992). It was the first Australian hip hop song to reach the Top 20 in the Australian charts, and Sound Unlimited became the first Australian hip hop act signed to a major label (CBS Records/Sony BMG). Group members included brother and sister Rosano (El Assassin) and Tina Martinez, MC Kode Blue and Vlad DJ BTL. In 1990 they supported Australian tours by Public Enemy, De La Soul and New Kids on the Block. In ‘Kickin’ to the Undersound’, members introduce themselves over a Men at Work sample, with lyrics drawing on their Western Sydney roots and Spanish, Filipino and Russian heritage. ‘Kickin’ to the Undersound’ was the highest charting of five singles from the album. The band’s success led to performances at Big Day Out later the same year, and an ARIA Award nomination for the single ‘One More From the City’ in 1994, the same year the group split up.

‘Chains’, Tina Arena – 1994  

‘Chains,’ by Italian-Australian singer Tina Arena was from her second solo studio album ‘Don’t Ask’ (1994). The first of six singles released from the album, ‘Chains’ was composed by Arena, Pam Reswick and Steve Werfel. The emotionally charged power ballad became a career-defining moment for Arena, peaking at number 4 in the Australian charts, number 6 in the UK, 20 in Canda, and 38 in the USA. The song propelled ‘Don’t Ask’ to become one of Australia’s highest-selling albums, earning multiple ARIA Awards including Album of the Year. Arena re-released ’Chains’ in 2015, featuring Jessica Mauboy and The Veronicas, and again in 2024 for its 30th anniversary, with Melbourne dance duo SHOUSE. Tina Arena has gone on to become one of Australia’s highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwide. Arena is multilingual, singing and recording in English, Italian, French and Spanish.

Last call of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi) – 2009  

The Christmas Island Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi) was a three-gram microbat endemic to Christmas Island, which was last recorded as a single ultrasonic audio recording in 2009 and has subsequently been confirmed as extinct. The bat was widespread between its first description in 1900 and the 1980s, but ultrasonic monitoring through the 1990s showed a rapid decline due to issues such as phosphate mining, roost disturbance, and introduced species including the yellow crazy ant and black rat. A captive breeding program was recommended in 2006, but no action was taken by the Australian Government for another three years. In 2009, eight scientists, including representatives from Zoos Victoria and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, plus volunteers from the Australasian Bat Society, spent four weeks surveying Christmas Island, during which they were unable to capture the only bat they found.

The Pipistrelle’s echolocation (the use of sound waves to determine location) was recorded but was never observed again. The Christmas Island Pipistrelle was officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 2017 and the Australian Threatened Species Scientific Committee in 2021. Reflecting on the experience in The Australasian Bat Society Newsletter, lead scientist and author of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle Recovery Plan said: ‘…in all likelihood, we observed the species going extinct and were unable to prevent it… It is not easy to document the decline of a species over the last 15 years, warn anyone that would listen that there was a real risk that it would go extinct by 2009, and then have your prediction come true.’ Christmas Island has now lost four of its five native mammals, among the 38 mammal species that have become extinct in Australia since colonisation.

Inaugural speech to Australian Parliament, Nova Peris – 2013  

One of Australia’s most decorated athletes, Labor Senator Nova Peris used her maiden speech in the Senate to say she would give up her accolades ‘in a heartbeat’ to see Indigenous Australians free, healthy and able to participate fully in their nation’s destiny. The first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal and the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Federal Parliament told her story in an impassioned maiden speech with her face painted with ochre from an ancient site in the Northern Territory. Born in Darwin, Peris is a descendant of the Gija people of the East Kimberley, the Yawuru people of the West Kimberley and the Iwatja people of West Arnhem Land.

Check out the Sounds of Australia collection here.