News of beloved journalist and TV presenter Simon Townsend’s death has sent shockwaves through the Australian entertainment industry.
His death, at age 79, was announced on Wednesday via his family, as reported by ABC News.
Simon was best remembered as the creator, host and producer of iconic ’80s children’s show Simon Townsend’s Wonder World.
The series, which was broadcast on Network Ten from 1979 to 1987, was a true hit of its time, landing five Logie Awards for Most Popular Children’s Television series.
Simon’s successful concept was given a second run in 1993, when it was rebooted by Channel Nine as Wonder World! hosted by Pascal Fox.
However, Simon lived quite the interesting life away from the cameras, making headlines after being imprisoned for protesting the Vietnam war.
News of beloved journalist and TV presenter Simon Townsend’s death has sent shockwaves through the Australian entertainment industry
Simon was very active in the anti-Vietnam war movement and often showed up to protests wearing a three-piece suit.
He was jailed for a month in Long Bay jail when he refused conscription orders and told the court he was a pacifist.
This time in jail was followed by another 28 days in military prison, where he spent much of the time in solitary confinement with only bread and water.
‘Free Townsend’ protests promptly took over the streets as his incarceration made front-page news.
During an appearance on the ABC’s Talking Heads in 2005, Simon revealed that his decision to protest the war came almost instantly.
‘I went to the newsagent on my way to work in the morning. I bought the ‘Australian’ and I sat down on the bench outside the post office to start reading the paper before I was to start work,’ Simon revealed.
‘But the front page said that Menzies was going to commit troops to Vietnam and they were conscripts. And suddenly, I decided almost in a flash that I would not go.’
He added that his vocal protests were partly driven by his ego, adding that his motives did not ‘lessen his argument.’
Simon was best remembered as the creator, host and producer of iconic ’80s children’s show Simon Townsend’s Wonder World however, he has quite the interesting life away from the camera, making headlines after being imprisoned for protesting the Vietnam war
He was jailed for a month in Long Bay jail when he refused conscription orders and told the court he was a pacifist, followed by another 28 days in military prison
‘Free Townsend’ protests promptly took over the streets as his incarceration made front-page news
‘I was often accused of that in court, that, you know: “You’re just a publicity seeker, an egotist and you like being a big shot, don’t you, Mr Townsend?”‘ he said.
‘It’s partly true. But that doesn’t lessen the argument I was putting forth. That the war was wrong and conscription for that war was wrong.’
Admitting that he began to second-guess himself when sitting alone in his cell, Simon added that if he had his time again, there would be little he would’ve changed.
‘[I would have changed] nothing,’ he said.
‘And of course, now, looking back 30, 40 years later, I was right. All of us who objected to the war, we were right.
His daughter Lisbeth Kennelly shared on ABC Radio Sydney that Townsend ‘scratched some words’ into his cell wall.
It read: ‘Wars will cease when men refuse to fight.’
Simon is survived by his three children—Nadia, Michael and Lisbeth Kennelly—as well as his brothers and five grandchildren.
‘The front page [of the Australian said that Menzies was going to commit troops to Vietnam and they were conscripts. And suddenly, I decided almost in a flash that I would not go,’ Simon told the ABC in 2005
!['[I would have changed] nothing,' he added. 'And of course, now, looking back 30, 40 years later, I was right. All of us who objected to the war, we were right.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/07/94107005-14285967-_I_would_have_changed_nothing_he_added_And_of_course_now_looking-a-2_1736925125757.jpg)
‘[I would have changed] nothing,’ he added. ‘And of course, now, looking back 30, 40 years later, I was right. All of us who objected to the war, we were right.
He was married to his first wife Rosanna, who he considered his ‘soulmate’, until her death left him devastated in 2003.
< p class="mol-para-with-font">The couple welcomed Nadia and Michael to the world together, with Townsend later being reunited with his third child Lisbeth in 1991.
Lisbeth was adopted by Townsend and her birth mother while the journalist was incarcerated during the Vietnam War.
Years after Rosanna’s death, Townsend rekindled a romance with a girlfriend from his youth, Kerrie Gleeson, with the couple living together until her death in 2015.
