At 10.5 precisely on 17 February 19**, that grande-dame of Antipodean culture, Edna May Everage, drew her first breath in the modest suburb of Moonee Ponds.
On Arena tonight, live by satellite from Sydney, Australia, cultural attache Sir Les Patterson salutes a megastar of the entertainment firmament. On this auspicious day - a day which is rumoured, incidentally, to coincide with the 50th birthday of reclusive impresario Barry Humphries - Sir Les introduces precious fragments from the BBC archive which relive the agony and the ecstasy of 'La Dame aux Gladiolas'.

An Arena production