THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

1945 - PMG Receiving Station - Highpark (Victoria)

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

jan71highparkb.jpg
January 1971 - visit to the station

Background
In the mid-1940s, the Post Office (PMG) set up a large shortwave monitoring station at a location known as Highpark,  about 60 km north of Melbourne.

The location was in open country, not far from the town of Kilmore.

The facility was staffed 24 hrs, and was equipped with state-of-the art rackl-mounted communications receivers, connected to a vast array of antennas.

The primary purpose of the station was to monitor spectrum occupancy of Radio Australia services, as well as carry out breciprocal monitoring for other large international broadcasters, such as the Voice of America and the BBC.

Remote access to some receivers was performed from the PMG’s Central Office Radio Section in William St, Melbourne, allowing spot-checks to be made at any time, with the audio being fed back via telephone lines.

The author visited the station in 1971 and 1984, as a member of a local hobby radio monitoring group.

The facility was located west of O’Dwyers Rd and south of Lowdens Rd.

There was once a railway station nearby, known as Highpark, which was on the former Kilmore to Lancefield railway line, closed in 1897.

Closure
In the late 1980s, the Highpark Receiving Station was pulled down and all infrastructure was removed. The land reverted to farmland. No trace of the original masts or buildings remain.

The receivers were ultimately sold at public auction.

 

jan71highparka.jpg
January 1971 - visit to the station

highpark1971antennas.jpg
1971 - visit to station - antennas

oct1984highparkmog.jpg
1984 - visit to station - Mick Ogrizek with receiver

highparkearth.jpg
2012 - Google Earth view of former site

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