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The Co-operative Global Radio Memories Project


The main website of the Radio Heritage Foundation is now


https://www.radioheritage.com


Most content on this legacy website is no longer actively maintained and may not be up-to-date. It is preserved on-line purely for historical interest as part of the Radio Heritage Foundation’s digital collection.


Blue Hawaii, Elvis and Hawaiian Radio in 1961

Image of 1961 Elvis BHI Soundtrack Album

‘Blue Hawaii’ was Billboard’s #1 Pop Album for 1961/62
© Wikipedia

In 1961, Hawaii was into its second year as the 50th state of the union, the state wide population was estimated at around 642,000 from the US Census the previous year, and the presidential elections held at the same time gave the Democrats the slightest of majorities in the state with 50.03%.

The Pali Highway opened that same year, making travel across Oahu much faster, whilst the nation’s first state wide zoning authority was established with the State Land Use Commission.

Across the islands, an ever growing number of radio stations had already reached 20 on AM and 3 on FM, with all but 5 located on the island of Oahu. For such a small and concentrated population, radio market saturation was already clearly in evidence.
 > read more

Fighting Voices from Downunder

When World War 2 began in 1939, radio broadcasting was still just a teenager, having started in the early 1920's in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

This young entertainment upstart was immediately drafted to 'the cause' and Armed Forces Radio stations appeared first, unofficially, in Alaska, whilst the Australian and New Zealand government broadcasters sent mobile broadcast units to the Middle East.

Image of ABC Gaza 1941

Australian Broadcasting Commission housed its Field Unit in this imposing structure, suitably attired with antenna, at Gaza, Palestine in October 1941
© Frank Hurley, Australian War Memorial

This was new territory for both broadcasters, who had to juggle wartime censorship and a legitimate demand for their volunteer military units to stay in touch with their families back home.
 > read more

2UW Sydney
The Station All Australia Knows

"This is Station 2UW Sydney...."

Transmitted from a vertical aerial towering 365 ft. above the city’s skyline, the voice of 2UW dominates the listening habits of a great proportion of the 1,500,000 people who live within the area of Greater Sydney.

image of The Station All Australia Knows

Operating 24 hours of every day . . . Originating the biggest of programmes on the air from as fine a broadcasting theatre as exists in Australasia . . . with as great a schedule of topline feature programmes at night, and in daytime, as has been gathered together on one station in Australia.

That is why MOST PEOPLE LISTEN TO 2UW.

image of Most People Listen to 2UW

The very best in music to suit every taste . . . the cream of dramatic entertainment . . . fast-moving quiz programmes . . . 15 of the most popular serials on the air . . . 11 news broadcasts daily . . . community singing broadcasts which, during the war, raised more than £3500 for the Red Cross . . . and a complete coverage of everything in sport.

That is the framework upon which 2UW’s programme schedule has been shaped.

That is the story, too, of the extraordinary development of 2UW since it was taken over by the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1932.
 > read more

2MO Gunnedah
A Fine Station in a Rich District

With a district population of 8,551, Gunnedah is one of the wealthiest pastoral districts in Northern New South Wales. In this locality 2MO has been broadcasting since 1930.

image of Original 2MO letterhead 1945

Original 2MO letterhead 1945
© Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation

Gunnedah is the leading town on the North Western Line, and its primary production includes fat cattle, wheat, wool, fat lambs and hay. The Gunnedah coal mine fulfils railway and power house contracts.
 > read more

2HD Newcastle

2HD reopened under New Management, the shares in the Company having been purchased by the Australian Labour Party, and the Trades and Labour Council after the station had been out of operation for four years. The re-opening took place on January 15, 1945.

Since that date the new 2HD has gained many friends in Newcastle, the Coal Fields District, and in other widely scattered parts of Australia. The friendly personal style of presentation, together with the first rate programmes provided by both national and local sponsors, has struck a responsive note among a listening public where other Stations are not readily heard owing to atmospheric conditions and locality.

image of 2HD Studio and Office Block

2HD Studio and Office Block

image of 2HD Transmitter House

2HD Transmitter House

2HD gives a continuous service of seventeen hours a day, seven days a week, from six a.m., until 11 p.m. (and to midnight on Saturday) which is claimed to be longer than that of any other commercial station outside of Sydney, and even more broadcast hours than some of the Sydney Stations. A wide variety of entertainment is provided with many Audience Shows, and Sporting Broadcasts, including the Races, Boxing, and Sporting Previews. The station is situated at Sandgate, seven miles out of Newcastle. A front view of the Studio and Office Block is seen above, while to the right is the Transmitter House, beside which you see in the distance, the 214 foot vertical mast. It is located in tidal swamps, which give it extra powerful signal strength.
 > read more

2GZ Central NSW
Country Service

Station 2GZ, Central New South Wales, commenced operations on Thursday, October 31st, 1935, with a powerful transmitter situated at Amaroo, twelve miles from Orange. Rapidly 2GZ became one of the most important and popular radio stations in the Commonwealth.

image of 2GZ Country Service logo

2GZ Country Service logo

At its inception 2GZ dedicated its efforts to the ideal of “Country Service,” and by devotion to this ideal and by careful attention to the requirements, in entertainment and information of country listeners, has won the largest listening audience in Central and Western New South Wales. The station’s primary service area exceeds 30,000 square miles.
 > read more

2BS Bathurst
'The Centre of the West'

2BS “The Centre of the West” transmitting on a frequency of 1500 Kc/s, wavelength of 200 metres, commenced operation in 1937.

image of Original 2BS letterhead

Original 2BS letterhead
© Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation

2BS is on the air from 6.30 a.m. till 10.30 p.m. week days and 10 a.m. till 2 p.m., and again from 5.30 p.m. till 10 p.m. on Sundays.

The station is owned, controlled and operated by Bathurst Broadcasters Pty. Ltd., with Directors B. N. Williams and W. T. Grant.

2BS operates in the centre of a very prosperous agricultural district which is rapidly becoming industrialised with the establishment of new secondary industries.
 > read more

Christchurch Earthquake 2011
Classic Gold Radio New Brighton 102.1 FM

Classic Gold Radio New Brighton 102.1 FM live and local on the air from New Brighton and covering the eastern suburbs 24/7 with essential local news and information, welfare programs and wonderful music.

On air from Monday March 14 on 102.1 MHz FM, and streaming online at http://stream.classicgold.co.nz:8010

The station has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RadioNewBrighton

The Radio Heritage Foundation holds the commercial licences for this station, operating from Central New Brighton School with 30 watts on 102.1 FM. Coverage extends in a radius of 5-7km from the school. Programming on the station is supplied by Classic Gold Radio. The licences end June 9 2011.

Christchurch Earthquake 2011

A devastating earthquake hit Christchurch [New Zealand] on February 22 2011. Radio services to the metropolitan area have been disrupted with many studios damaged and inaccessible.
image of postcard Helping Rebuild Christchurch

A complete list of current AM and FM radio services in Christchurch can be downloaded here as a Word doco (or here as a PDF file) plus notes about their current status

Good news... we have had the original 3ZB studio building inspected and it has had no damage. It was built to withstand machinegun attack and close aerial bombing and has survived the killer earthquake unscathed. This will make a great home for housing 3ZB memorabilia and a permanent local LPFM community radio station to serve in the months and years of rebuilding Christchurch that lie ahead.......

Helping Rebuild Christchurch.. Please Donate Now





NZ residents can make a direct bank credit to 03-1790-0106663-00 code RNBFM and email us their name and address so we can issue a tax receipt.

In addition, a media release about the status of local Low Power FM radio services, particularly in the badly hit eastern suburbs gives more information about these neighborhood stations.

A copy of the media release is available and also from our media release page.

We had just launched our Helping Rebuild Christchurch project centered on restoration of the original 3ZB transmitter and studio building in New Brighton plus setting up a local LPFM radio station in the building for local community programs.

We are more determined than ever to proceed with this project which will give the eastern suburbs a local radio station for emergencies such as this recent earthquake and showcase the story of 3ZB, which served the city with news and welfare programs during WWII from this site.

Please donate to support this project and others forming part of the Kiwi Radio Campaign and our ongoing operational costs to make this project happen. Thank you for helping rebuild Christchurch.
image of postcard Helping Rebuild Christchurch





NZ residents can make a direct bank credit to 03-1790-0106663-00 code RNBFM and email us their name and address so we can issue a tax receipt.

150 Sponsors Underwrite
Operating Costs in 2011

Thanks for making this global radio heritage publishing project so popular again in 2010.
image of Street art captured from 3CR Melbourne

Street art captured from 3CR Melbourne - 35 years on the air in 2011


In January 2005, we went live with the vision to connect people, places, events and radio broadcasting heritage across the Pacific basin. We recorded 1,447 visits to the site that month, 3,198 page views and 16,436 hits.

In December 2010, we expect 28,000+ visits, 60,000 page views and over 291,000 hits and the site is 3,661,264 in global rankings, more popular than most radio networks and stations across the region.

There's much more to be done. We have boxes of audio tapes to be sorted and digitized, thousands of photos to be scanned, over 100,000 cards, letters and other radio station memorabilia to catalog, scan and bring on line, thousands of radio station profiles to launch and so much more to protect.
image of Founder of Samoa's Radio Polynesia network Rudolph Keil

Founder of Samoa's Radio Polynesia network Rudolph Keil takes time out for an exclusive interview with us


Since 2005, our weekly operating costs of NZ$520 [US$385] have been fully subsidized by two board members and no wages have been paid. In 2011, we must move to a stronger financial footing to support our continued service.





We need 150 sponsors to each underwrite NZ$150 [US$100] in 2011 to cover 85% of our weekly operating costs. Will you help? New Zealand residents can claim a tax refund of $50 after April 1 2011.

Thanks in advance for your generous and practical help. We'll continue to share our collections here online and always welcome ideas for new features, stories, radio station guides and other ways to connect popular culture, nostalgia and radio heritage across the Pacific.

Our annual financial report is available from the Charities Commission [link at bottom of every page]. We'll gladly acknowledge your support online unless you wish otherwise.
image of 2ZC Top 40 January 1961

Keith Richardson has donated his music and memorabilia collection to us.
2ZC Top 40 January 1961 - 50 years on


Warm wishes for 2011 and always take a radio with you!

David Ricquish
Chairman
on behalf of the Radio Heritage Foundation

2ZW The Voice of the Capital City

The first B licence issued to a New Zealand broadcaster was to 2ZW Wellington, which began operations on May 20 1931 at 1120 on the AM radio dial.
image of The Men behind 2ZW

The Men behind 2ZW


A group of local businessmen led by Mr R H Nimmo established 2ZW to bring 'free' radio [free in that listeners were not paying a licence fee for the stations programs] to Wellington.  > read more

Radio Shacks: The Quartz Hill Collection 2

image of Terry Crothers VK8KTC, Groote Eylandt NT, Australia

Terry Crothers VK8KTC, Groote Eylandt NT, Australia


In the second of this series, the Quartz Hill Collection, amateur radio stations from around the world that have worked ZL6QH feature in the Radio Shacks Gallery.

Quartz Hill Amateur Radio Station ZL6QH was based at an old short wave receiving station located about 30 minutes drive from central Wellington, New Zealand.  > read more

Undercover Radio

By Bill Hester

image of Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan in his early twenties performing in 1963.
Source: wikipedia.

A teenage boy in Hibbing was older than me then, and grew up a thousand miles from my home, but he could have lived next door. We shared and searched some of the same airwaves for a few years.

Speaking for both of us, Bob later said “very seldom you hear real songs anymore. Well, we were lucky to grow up when you could hear them all the time. All you had to do was switch on the radio and you could hear them.”  > read more



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