AustLit

Adelaide programme director and announcer, Evan Senior had his musical comedy, On the Air, broadcast by South Australian radio station 5CL on 5 August 1931. It therefore became the first locally-written musical to be produced especially for radio. The Adelaide Mail's "Broadcasting Notes" column in the 22 August edition suggested a few weeks after its debut that On the Air's 'great success was further evidence of the fact that radio entertainment reaches its highest peak with productions specially written for its medium' (p.23). Indeed, the musical's popularity in South Australia was such that it was re-broadcast two times by 5CL the following year (Advertiser 2 April 1932, p.11).

The Advertiser and Register (Adelaide) records that Senior wrote the music, book and lyrics, and that its musical settings were by Tom King and Walter Hurst (1 August 1931, p. 13).