THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

INTERNET RADIO FOR EVERYONE! (Added October 14, 2017) Below is the portal to the on-line directory of several hundred radio stations worldwide offering streaming audio via the internet. Click the Country, then the Station and  the audio will play immediately! Radio Australia is listed!

The History of Shortwave Radio in Australia by Robert J.Padula, OAM is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Welcome to my on-line Engineering Research Project "The History of Shortwave Broadcasting in Australia" I am Robert V. J. Padula, OAM, (Bob) of Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia. I was one of the first Victorian War Babies of the Second World War, having been born on September 6, 1939, in Melbourne. On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Neville Chamberlain broadcast the announcement that the country was at war. This History Project is a Journey, in words, pictures. videos and sound, concerning the history, evolution, and deveopment of shortwave (high frequency) radio broadcasting in Australia. The work concerns commercial, governmental, military. and private broadcasting activity. Amateur radio and "pirate" radio is not included. I have also included substantial material which looks at the inventions of land and radio telegraphy, and the progression through longwave and mediumwave telephony broadcasting technologies, in Australia and elsewhere. The Project includes articles and images from my personal visits to several shortwave broadcasting and receiving facilities in Victoria, most of which no longer exist. My interersts ionclude activies linked to my involvement in electronics, radio technology, the cinema, photography, bushwalking, travelling, swimming, and astronomy. Much of this concerns my involvement in the monitoring of international shortwave broadcasting and research into high frequency long distance radio propagation My hobby experiences in electronics and radio communications, which started back in the mid 1940s, ultimately paved the way for my full-time employment as a Technician, and later a Professional Engineer, in the Postmaster's General Department (now Telstra). After 41 years with the Company, I left Telstra in 1997, having reached the ranks of senior engineering management, and since then I have provided expert professional advice and consultancy in fhe field of international broadcast engineering. I am a Chartered Professional Engineer, and a Life Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia. In 1955 I undertook a Vocational Guidance program when I was in Year 10 at Camberwell High School - the assessment said that I should pursue a "Technical Career" - they were spot on! I now invite you to join me on our long journey from the middle of the 19th century to the present day! (Bob Padula, June 2012)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SITE

This site is optimised for Internet Explorer 9 - the use of other browsers may yield unsatisfactory results. Font size should be adjusted to suit personal viewing preferences. Google advertisements are displayed on the site - click throughs will generate a small income for the author.The content of these ads is targeted by geographical region, browsing history and site content. The Project includes several Audio and Video Files - the following applications must be installed to access and view all content: Flash Player Adobe Acrobat Reader (or similar PDF reader) Windows Media Player (or similar media player) JavaScript 1928 - Fiskville (Victoria) Beam Wireless transmitting station 1928 - Lyndhurst (Victoria) first SW station 1959 - Radio Australia (ABC) Shepparton (Victoria) 1935 - VK3ME transmitters (Braybrook, Victoria)