THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

1941 - RAAF Frognall (Melbourne)

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

frognall1943.jpg
1943 view

frognall1943waaftelegraphists.jpg
1943 - WAAF operators

Background
During World War II the military in Melbourne occupied a wide and varied range of private Melbourne homes and some civic buildings

One of these is Frognall, in Mont Albert Rd, Canterbury.

Frognall was constructed in 1888-9 for the timber merchant Clarence Hicks, who had gained wealth from the building boom. After the bank collapse and depression of the early 1890s Frognall was owned by the National Bank of Australasian and occupied by a school. It was purchased by the wool manufacturer Burdett Laycock in 1901, and occupied by the family until offered to the Crown for wartime purposes in 1941. Frognall was then occupied by the RAAF Melbourne Wireless Telecommunications Station until 1975, and continued to be used by the RAAF until 1984 when it was purchased by the City of Camberwell, who subsequently sold the building for use as a private residence.

Frognall was designed by James Gall as a two-storeyed, towered, Italianate house and includes interior encaustic tiling, ornate moulded decorations and marble fireplaces. It contains original outbuildings including stables and its original garden layout at the front.

frognall1945raafrecordingsignals.jpg
1945 - recording signals

frognall1944waafops.jpg
1944 - WAAF operators

frognall1943waaf.jpg
1943 - WAAF operators

frognall2012.jpg
2012 - Frognall

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