Beloved ABC icon, who was one of the last veterans from the pre-television era, dies aged 98

ABC program director Arthur Wyndham has died, aged 98.

Wyndham, who was one of the last veterans of Australian broadcasting from the pre-television era, passed away in Sydney on October 6 according to an obituary penned by daughter Susan Wyndham for the Sydney Morning Herald.

He is survived by his three daughters and six grandchildren. 

He was a pioneer in television in the 1950s and oversaw the introduction of the youth station Triple J with funding from the Whitlam government.

He began his 38-year career with the ABC in 1947 as a radio announcer and newsreader.

Wyndham later broadcast parliamentary sittings before moving to the BBC for four months to learn television production.

He became the first producer to be trained in outdoor broadcasting and covered the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

During the Vietnam War in, Wyndham became an adviser to Radio Saigon and trained local broadcasters in reporting rather than propaganda.

He was a pioneer in television in the 1950s and oversaw the introduction of the youth station Triple J with funding from the Whitlam government

In 1948, he married his first wife Shirley Moore and they welcomed daughter Susan before the couple divorced in 1962.

Wyndham went on to remarry Prudence Bavin and had two more daughters, Joanna and Katharine.

He retired from the ABC in 1985 but continued broadcasting and reported from the Philippines on the fall of president Ferdinand Marcos.