Almost one million Sydney viewers last Friday tuned in to see Brian
Henderson say goodbye when he presented his final edition of
National Nine News, the same weekday bulletin he has anchored for
almost 40 years.
Hendo, 71, officially retired following the bulletin, marking the
end of an extraordinary 46-year career with Channel Nine that began
in 1957 soon after television started in Australia.
While hundreds of colleagues packed Nine's Sydney newsroom to watch
Hendo flawlessly deliver his last bulletin, 961,385 Sydneysiders
tuned in at precisely 6.36pm to hear him say: "for the last time,
the way it is this Friday the 29th of November, this is Brian
Henderson, a sad Brian Henderson, saying not goodnight this time,
but goodbye."
The extended edition of National Nine News, which included a
special seven-minute tribute to Hendo, was watched by an average
770,277 viewers between 6.00pm and 6.37pm, making it Sydney's most
watched program last night.
Brian Henderson joined Channel Nine in January 1957, initially
reading the weekend news bulletins.
In November 1958 he began his marathon 14-year stint as executive
producer and presenter of Bandstand, the launching pad for many
great music careers.
In 1964, Brian replaced Chuck Faulkner as the anchor of Nine's main
nightly news bulletin in Sydney - a job he has done ever since.
Jim Waley will replace Brian as the weekday presenter of National
Nine News in Sydney from Monday, 2 December. Waley will also
continue to host the Sunday program while in the new year Mark
Ferguson will read the weekend 6pm editions of National Nine News.
