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Stan Gervas
Courtesy of veterans Gus Slater, Ian Simson and the West Australian Newspaper, we have been advised of the sad death of radio pioneer Stan Gervas, who many in the industry will remember fondly as a radio announcer and executive, author and proprietor of Wallpaper World.
Stan (Albert) Gervas was born 13 December 1919 in the wheat farming district of Kulin in Western Australia, and passed away in Royal Perth Hospital aged 90 on April 15, 2010.
Stan began in radio as a copywriter for Whitford Broadcasting Network in Perth, followed by breakfast announcing at 6KG in Kalgoorlie. On returning to Perth in 1942, he became the first compere of the Shopping Basket program on 6PM, before John Luke famously continued it on. He moved to Sydney in 1944 and for a time worked for 2CH a church owned radio station. He did a very brief stint as 2GB breakfast announcer before returning to 2CH to become production manager. This coincided with his marriage to Eileen (Eily) Jack, who too worked for Whitford Broadcasting. Later, Stan and Eily travelled to Britain and the continent before returning to Perth, initially as a copywriter, but soon after was elevated to program manager of 6IX. Stan was responsible for introducing Can We Help You, made famous in later years by John Fryer and Peter Dean.
Stan was also a prolific writer, self publishing many titles dealing in local and family histories and a biography of Wilhelm Liebe (better known as Gus Liebe, the builder of His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth).
Stan Gervas died in Royal Perth Hospital aged 90. He is survived by his wife Eily, children Julie and David and two grandchildren.
Publications:
Five graves in Dalwallinu : a life of Wilhelm Friederich Gustave Liebe
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book, Audio book : 1991-2004]
ISBN 0646068202
Biography of Western Australian personality who as a German migrant put his architectural skills to work building some noted hotels in Perth before turning his hand to farming in the Wubin and Dalwallinu area.
Kulin (1919) to Tuscany (1989) : journey of a lifetime, an auto-metrobiography
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1992]
What about our forests? : a survey
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1993]
The way we were : Perth in the 1930’s
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1994]
Freo / by Stan Gervas
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book, Audio book : 1996-1999]
Subtitle: A portrait of the Port City. “Fremantle it may be, and will remain so, but it is also ‘Freo’ a term of endearment”
Love at second sight / by Stan Gervas
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1997]
Tin Dog Creek : the Dowerin story, 1897-1997 : Shire of Dowerin, Western Australia
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1997]
Stan Gervas (1998) recalls the way we were : Perth in the 1930’s
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 1998]
ISBN 0646191241
Pipe-dream to pipeline : the eventful life of Nathaniel W. Harper
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 2001]
Sunday mornings in Perth / with Stan Gervas
Gervas, Stan, 1919-2010
[Book : 2003]
ISBN 0957862229
Perth (W.A.) – Description and travel; Buildings, structures, etc.
An Oral History sound recording exists of Stan Gervas, who was interviewed by the ABC’s Earl Reeve for ScreenSound Australia. Record Number 303635.
http://www.nfsa.gov.au/docs/collectionguide_oralhistory_radio.pdf
References and Links
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 15 May, 2019 and hosted at freotopia.org/authors/gervas.html (it was last updated on 19 April, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.