Hector Crawford was a Melbourne-based producer of radio and television programs. The most nationalist of Australian producers, his company was a family company not only in the sense of being dominated by the Crawford family but also in the sense of being vertically organized so that every production was controlled from the top of the company. The company was also family oriented in terms of the values esteemed in many of its programs: respect for authority, espousal of domestic values, celebration of Australian history and society. However, these were old-fashioned values and practices, and they were found especially wanting in the 1980s when Crawford was to lose control, some years before his death, of the company he founded.

Hector Crawford was born in 1913 in Melbourne, where he acquired a musical training. While working as a clerk in the late 1930s, he began the Music for the People outdoor concerts, which were broadcast by the Herald and Weekly Times’ own radio station 3DB. In 1940 he became music and recording director of Broadcast Exchange, an Australian recording and radio production company, and in 1942 he rose to the position of managing director. His sister, Dorothy Crawford, trained at the Melbourne Conservatorium and was a professional singer. She worked for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in radio and drama productions before joining Broadcast Exchange in 1944 as drama producer. With the encouragement of 3DB, the two set up their own radio program production company, Hector Crawford Productions, in 1945.

Thanks to its special relationship with 3DB and sister stations in the Major Network, Crawford’s was very successful in radio. In addition, the market for local radio programs, which had developed considerably in wartime, continued to expand, and by 1950 the company was one of the largest in radio. The company’s radio output specialized in music and drama series and features. Some of its important programs were Melba, Melba Sings, The Blue Danube, John Turner’s Family, D24, and No Holiday for Halliday.

When HSV Channel 7 (owned by the Herald and Weekly Times newspaper group) went to air on television in late 1956, Crawford Productions was producing a quiz/game show, Wedding Day, for the station within a week. However, between 1956 and 1960, HSV Channel 7 bought little except for some quiz shows and a modest sitcom series, Take That. In 1961 the company’s fortunes improved, with HSV committing itself to the courtroom drama series Consider Your Verdict. Its modest success helped pave the way for Crawford’s next major development. In 1964 the company sold the police series Homicide to HSV and the Seven Network. Homicide spawned two other Crawford police series, Division 4 and Matlock Police. These, together with other company series such as Ryan, Showcase, and The Box, made Crawford Productions a veritable “Hollywood on the Yarra.” The company employed hundreds and had construction departments, sound stages, and its own studios. Crawford’s hiccuped briefly in 1975, with the cancellation of the three police series, but in late 1976, The Sullivans began on the Nine Network. It was the quintessential Crawford series, notable for its good production values and solid entertaining drama that treated traditional institutions—most especially the Australian family in wartime—with great respect. The company was less successful with serials such as Carson’s Law, Skyways, Holiday Island, and Good Vibrations. However, Crawford’s was much more successful with two other serials, Cop Shop and The Flying Doctors. In 1983 Crawford’s made its first miniseries, the enormously successful All the Rivers Run. Other mini-series included The Flying Doctors; Alice to Nowhere; My Brother Tom; Whose Baby?; All the Rivers Run II; This Man, This Woman; and Jackaroo. In addition, Crawford’s made several films for theatrical release. It also made two children’s series, The Henderson Kids and The Zoo Family.

In 1974 Dorothy Crawford retired from the company because of ill health. Her son, Ian, then shared executive producer credits with Hector Crawford on all Crawford programs.

The larger companies in television drama packaging in Australia have weathered periods of financial difficulty not only because of the cash flow from past successes but also because of other sources of financial stability. In the case of Crawford’s, it was sustained by the special relationship it enjoyed with HSV Channel 7 and the Seven Network, which bought a large number of programs from the company. The Herald and Weekly Times was also ready to help Crawford’s with loans in times of need.

In 1972, for example, Hector Crawford privately sold the company to the Herald and Weekly Times, only to buy it back a year later. Again, in 1985 Crawford sold 40 percent of shares to the group, as well as a further 10 percent to Gordon and Gotch. This was the situation in early 1987, when Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd. bought out the Herald and Weekly Times group and, already owning Gordon and Gotch, found itself owning half of Crawford Productions. With the special relationship with HSV Channel 7 at an end, in poor health after a throat operation, and deciding to capitalize on Crawford’s extensive library, Hector Crawford sold the company to Ariadne, a property and tourist company in 1987. Hector Crawford continued as honorary chair and died early in 1991.