A group of 13 Rotarians, together with President Arthur King, visited Brisbane to view the first public exhibition of the wonders of television. This was staged by the Shell Company. The equipment was valued at 25,000 Pounds, weighed 2.5 tons, contained 400 valves and required seven technicians to operate it.

On the opening day Transport Minister Jack Duggan officially opened the demonstration and estimated 3,000 attended. One television was situated in a display window facing the footpath outside the hotel.  The appearance of this television caused excitement among passersby to the point that police had to be called to control the crowd congregating outside Lennon’s Hotel.

The television sets on display were replicas of those which were currently on sale in England for approximately £38 (today roughly $1,883).  Their screens measured 8.5 inches by 6.5 inches (21.5 cms by 16.5 cms). It was reported that the picture quality on the screen was very clear with no visible flickering.

During this demonstration it was believed that the introduction of television in Australia was only a couple of years away, however TV was not introduced in New South Wales and Victoria until 1956. Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia followed in 1959 with  Tasmania in 1960, ACT in 1962 and Northern Territory in 1971.