Story: Radio

Temple of radio culture, 1937 (2nd of 4)

Temple of radio culture, 1937

In this 1937 cartoon Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage and Director of Broadcasting James Shelley pour radio fees into a concrete mixer for the construction of a 'temple of radio culture'. Shelley, a Labour government appointee, was a former professor of education, committed to using radio as a tool to uplift the cultural level of the masses. A section of the public was suspicious of Labour's radio experiments, especially as they were paid for by listeners' licence fees.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-312-1-191
Cartoon by William Blomfield

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Brian Pauling, 'Radio - The state takes over – the 1930s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/42800/temple-of-radio-culture-1937 (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Brian Pauling, published 22 Oct 2014