Doctor Who in Australia - Merchandise

Merchandise

Apart from imports of products from overseas, there have been a number of commercial products licensed to be made especially for the Australian market. Over the decades, the national broadcaster, the ABC, has produced a variety of items and promoted them vigorously on-air and in its shops. Several have basically been reprints of British products with the ABC logo on the covers replacing a British one, such as an Australian edition of what in Britain had been the "Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special" (in 1983). There was also a "Technical Manual" with supposed plans of Daleks, robots, the TARDIS, guns K9 and sundry aliens.

In 1980 sets of Tom Baker merchandise which included posters, cards, buttons, and writing sets, was also largely a reissue of British product, marketed in Australia from Sydney by an Ian Nichols who had moved from Britain to handle the items. These were vigorously promoted in Sydney by "Grace Brothers" (nothing to do with the BBC comedy series "Are You Being Served?") a chain of department stores, which brought Tom Baker out to conduct a whirlwind autographing blitz in its many suburban stores. But after that these items were not very successful.

Other stray items have been "Show Bags" full of ephemeral bits and pieces, usually of a fairly poor quality for children, and sold at major "shows" (usually related to rural production with fun fairs and other activities) such as the "Royal Easter Show" in Sydney where the stall holder also distributed some leaflets to promote the national club, and he had plans to tour many rural towns throughout the state of New South Wales, and maybe to go further afield. A similar (or even identical) product was sold at the Royal Melbourne Show.

The distributor of BBC DVDs Roadshow has for several years issued the BBC product but for Australian format, and often with the address of the Australian club on the wrapping.