THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

1926 - First Shortwave Stations in New South Wales

Home
Project Overview
1800s - Land Telegraphy
1874 - Guglielmo Marconi - a Tribute
1895 - Wireless Telegraphy
1901 - Wireless Telegraphy
1902 - Wireless Telegraphy in Australia
1904 - Australian Coastal Radio
1906 - Wireless Telephony
1912 - Melbourne Radio - VIM
1914 - Shortwave Wireless Telephony
1920s - Commercial Shortwave Telephony Development
1920s - Receivers
1920 - The huge RCA Longwave Station in New York
1920 - Wireless broadcasting in Australia
1920s - First shortwave stations in Victoria
1921 - Discovery of Shortwave Propagation
1921 - Koo Wee Rup (Victoria) Experimental Wireless Receiving Station
1923- Longwave Broadcasting in Australia
1923 - Evolution of Australian Domestic Radio
1924 - 3LO - Melbourne's Second Broadcaster
1924 - 3AR - Melbourne's first broadcaster
1924 - The Braybrook (Melbourne) Transmitting Site
1925 - First Shortwave Stations in Western Australia
1926 - First Shortwave Stations in New South Wales
1926 - RAAF Communications - Laverton (Vic)
1927 - Beam Wireless Worldwide
1927 - Beam Wireless from Australia
1928 - ABC Lyndhurst (Victoria)
1930 - AWA Receiving Station at La Perouse (Sydney)
1930 - AWA Radio Centre at Pennant Hills
1933 (to 1969) - Shortwave Radio Clubs in Australia
1936 - Ship Broadcaster - the MS Kanimbla
1939 - Belconnen Communications Station (Canberra)
1940 - RAAF Receiving Station at Werribee (Victoria)
1941 - RAAF Frognall (Melbourne)
1941 - ABC Brisbane
1942 - Army Wireless Chain - west of Melbourne
1942 - Dutch Stations in Australia
1943 - ABC Radio Australia - Shepparton (Victoria)
1943 - Army Shortwave HF Stations in Melbourne
1944 - ABC - Radio Australia - Looking Back
1945 - PMG Receiving Station - Highpark (Victoria)
1945 - Radio Australia - DXers Calling
1946 - Radio Australia - Communications Programs
1946 - VNG Time Signal Station
1948 - Radio Australia QSL Cards
1948 - ABC Sydney
1966 - ABC Cox Peninsula (Darwin)
1970 (to 2012) - Shortwave Radio Clubs in Australia
1975 - ABC Gnangara (Western Australia)
1975 - ABC Carnarvon (Western Australia)
1978 - Omega Navigation Station - Woodside (Victoria)
1985 - ABC Northern Territory
1989 - ABC Brandon (Queensland)
2003 - Private Shortwave Broadcasters
Timeline - Part One - 1839 to 1927
Timeline - Part Two - 1928 to 2012
SPECIAL - Licencing of Shortwave Broadcasters
SPECIAL - Radio Receivers for Shortwave
SPECIAL - Radio Monitoring as a Hobby
Epilogue
Bibliography, References and Resources
Links to the author's personal websites

vk2metxer.jpg
2ME transmitter

vk2meart.jpg
2ME art deco

2BL Sydney
February 1926, station 2BL, Sydney, carried out tests on approximately 40 metres, from 11 pm to midnight. Ray Allsop was in charge of operations, and reception reports were sought, especially from listeners in Victoria. This test transmission was also heard in the USA, with reports coming  from as far away as New York.

March 1928
Another dual operation was carried out from Sydney. The arrival in Sydney of Bert Hinkler's aircraft was broadcast to the world over 2BL on mediumwave, in addition to the special shortwave transmitter on 52.55 metres, This special dual shortwave and mediumwave coverage was given in association with Hinkler presence at the Sydney Stadium where the lightweight championship of Australia was being staged.

VK2ME Pennant Hills
September 5 1927
Up in Sydney, a similar operation had been in the planning stages for some time, and, the first Empire Broadcast program went to air over the AWA transmitter at Pennant Hills, on 10525 kHz (28.5 metres). The program was supplied by the mediumwave station 2FC (operated by “Farmers”) in conjunction with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. This first Empire Broadcast preceded the Melbourne transmission by a mere two!

October 17 1927.
The 2nd Empire Broadcast Program went to air from Sydney, and this time it was also radiated on the mediumwave outlet from 2FC. The first program had only been transmitted on shortwave. The 3rd

October 31 1927
The Third Empire Broadcast program from Sydney was the result of a special request from the British Broadcasting Company, in London, and was heard "splendidly" in England. Gerald Marcouse, the British radio experimenter, actually rebroadcast she program back to Australia where it was widely heard, and it was also received in other parts of the world. Special messages in that program came from the Council of the NSW Rugby Union, from the Postmaster General, from the NSW Premier (Mr Bavin), and from the captain of the New Zealand cricket team, Mr T. Lowry (to the Marylebone cricket club).

A feature of this broadcast was the laughing of a pet kookaburra, brought to the studio for the purpose of "laughing for Britain" by its owner, Mrs W. Clarkson, the origination of the ‘’Jacko”' call used for introducing Radio Australia's transmissions, and which endured so well for many decades.

Actually, the first "Jacko" for Melbourne first laughed at the listeners early in February 1928 over 3LO - he also held the title 'Little Master Kookaburra".

The Sydney Empire Broadcast AWA programs also featured the "Cooee" calls, and were presented by Gratten Smith, which were quite popular and sought after by the British listening audience.

2ME used initially 10525 kHz. In 1930 it had moved to 9615 kHz. It also used 9760 kHz, and was finally used on 9590 kHz.

Programs tor Europe, North America, the Pacific, Asia, in English and other languages were presented.

September 1928
The power of 2ME was increased to 20 kW. This was the highest powered telephony transmitter in the Southern Hemisphere at that time, and to mark the introduction of the new transmitter, an internationally important event was broadcast to a worldwide audience. This was the 29th Eucharistic Congress, held in Sydney, and reception throughout the world was excellent. The programs were also relayed in the USA by station 2XAD at Schenectady, and in New Zealand, and the event was held at St. Marys Cathedral, with massed choirs and a specially augmented orchestra.

September 1928
The "Listener In" said: “the events of the Congress are now past history, but they all have provided radio listeners with a wealth of music such as few listeners could have heard in personal and descriptive accounts of ceremonies such as the Eucharistic Procession, which are not likely to be repeated in Sydney in the life of the present generation".

In Washington, USA, reports said that the special Congress broadcasts were "a good deal louder than the British Broadcasting Station at Chelmsford, England".

Late 1928
2ME's schedule was on 10525 kHz, on Monday mornings from 4.30 am to 6 am, with relays of 2FC included at times

1929
A second transmitter at Pennant Hills was brought into operation with the callsign VK2MA.

1936
2ME operated on 9590 kHz, with programs on Sundays, 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm, 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm, and on Mondays 12.30 am to 2.30 am. This schedule continued until the end of 1939.

December 20 1939
2ME was taken over by the Government.

 

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