During the course of the series, Townsend and his reporters travelled all over Australia and to many and varied locations in America, the UK, Europe, India, Asia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Philippines, and other places in the Pacific region.
But Simon Townsend always insisted that Wonder World stories should generally be timeless and placeless, so—although produced in Sydney—they would always appeal to "Tom in Perth".
Simon Townsend would end every show with the same signature farewell—"And remember, the world really is wonderful!"
The program was conceived by Townsend in the early 1970s and was designed to be a fast-moving daily dose of informed entertainment for children, as well as be suitable for and attractive to older teens and adults.
However, in 1979 when the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal introduced a compulsory 'C' classification (making it a requirement for networks to broadcast only 'C' classified shows between 4 pm and 5 pm weekdays), Townsend saw the potential and offered the Ten Network, which was searching for a suitable children's program at the time, the opportunity to produce his show.
In early 1980, after Harvey Shore joined the show as executive producer and used his extensive media contacts and movie publicity experience to generate regular publicity and create massive public awareness of the show among all network states, the ratings shot up and other capital cities and regional stations began signing up for the show.
The title was shortened to Wonder World!, and again ran every weekday afternoon on Nine for the next three years.
However, when the meaning of the lyrics was pointed out to him,[3] Townsend decided to commission a new and original theme song clearly linked to the eponymous host of the show.
It was arranged and produced by Mike Harvey at EMI Studios Sydney in 1979, and released as a single by RCA that same year.
John St Peeters was by then working in the US, and unavailable; so Simon cast around for a new voice and eventually settled on up-and-coming female singer, Naomi Louise Warne, who went on to achieve international fame as a blues singer, composer and instrumentalist.
In 1983, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke presented Simon Townsend with a special 'Prime Minister's Award' trophy, commemorating the milestone of broadcasting the one thousandth episode of Simon Townsend's Wonder World!
Many others who later became well known in the film and TV industry got their first break thanks to Simon Townsend's Wonder World!.
Harvey Shore[5] was hired to train new reporters and produce the show once again, this time for the Nine Network.