|
The Wireless.
J.T. Forbes, an electrician who owned "Radio House" in Raymond
Street, Sale, had been selling wireless receiving sets since 1924 and
capitalised on the event, customers were offered the latest
"all-electric radio set". The Marconi wireless Receiving Set - a
six valve model, for a mere 25 pounds, or a more sophisticated model for
29 guineas.
Many of the back gardens in Sale, Longford and Dutson began to sprout 20
to 30 feet high radio masts. Running from them to the house were single
lines of three strand wire up to 100 feet long, often with the necks of
bottles acting as insulators.
Indoors, listeners with a set of headphones fiddled with a "cat
whisker" (a piece of very fine wire) till a crackle or static
indicated a radio station contact had been made. Signal clarity was
achieved by moving a slide across an induction coil, crystal sets and
headphones, the forerunner of the home radio, could be bought for a few
shillings and a complete set for less than a pound.
In 1949, 3GI's first Regional officer, Terry Colhoun was appointed and
stayed three years before moving to Newcastle. Shortly after, the first
Regional Journalist, John Nelson, joined him. At the end of 1951, Graham
White joined the full-time staff as the Regional Extension Officer,
introducing the Country Breakfast Session to Gippsland farmers.
Growth
But life in Sale wasn't all play. The increase in staff
was necessary because of growing activity. Local programs included a news
service twice daily, sporting sessions and commentaries, weekly music
recitals by Gippsland artists - some of them living up to a hundred miles
away! - daily farmers' sessions, regular editions of Gippsland Magazine,
local talks, and so on.
Changes
In the early 1980s with technology advancing in all forms of the media,
the ABC was making inroads in adding FM broadcasting to its ever-growing
list of achievements. By the end of the '80s, 3GI was looking to move its
location from the Raymond Street bank building studios it had occupied
since 1954. ABC Radio 3GI has had several locations since it opened in
1935. Prior to 1954 it was housed in the old Post Office building (now the
CES). The clock tower in the middle of the town is the only part of the
building left.
From1954 till 1991, 3GI operated from the old ANZ Bank building. It was
in the vault of this building that the gold from the Omeo diggings was
stored. Many of the old bank employees claim that the building is haunted,
that a "friendly" ghost lives upstairs. In 1991, the location
was changed yet again, and the Chairman of the ABC, Mr. Robert Somervaille,
A.M., formally opened the new location on the Princes Highway on 20th
March that Year.
In the late 1980's, the ABC decided to transfer its regional programs
to FM or Frequency Modulated technology. This is essentially the same as
television and gives better quality reception but with the limitation of
being in line-of-sight. New FM transmitters were installed on Mt. Tassie,
Mt. Taylor, Mt. Raymond, at Cann River and eventually at Mallacoota.
The Station
Victoria's first ABC regional radio station, 3GI, was
opened on the 31st October 1935, barely three years after the formation of
the Australian Broadcasting Commission. It was the 6th regional station
opened by the national broadcaster in Australia. Signals from the very
small studio in the Post Office building were transmitted to the Longford
transmitter for broadcasting to the more remote parts of Gippsland.
Until that time, residents of the district were limited to programs
from Melbourne, but due to the distance and the terrain, reception tended
to be subject to considerable interference and static to such an extent
that sometimes it was impossible to hear the programs at all.
The Ball
The advertised opening of the station was a major social event
in the district. A Grand Ball was held in the Victoria Hall, Sale.
Tickets, for those fortunate enough to be invited, cost 7 shillings and 6
pence each and for that princely sum one could dance to Jim Davidson's
Dance Band, listen to the Sundowners Male Quartet and be entertained by
Alex Walker and comedian Norman Bland. The profits of the celebration,
some 100 pounds, were donated to the Gippsland Base Hospital.
Transmitting
The 500 feet high transmitter mast was erected at Brewer's Hill, Longford
and was attached by cable to a water-cooled 7000-watt transmitter. Being
the tallest and most powerful transmitter mast in Victoria, it soon became
the focus of locals and visitors alike. The mast also served as a
challenge to many of the young men of Longford and Dutson and quite a few
climbed its 500 feet, sometimes as a dare and sometimes to impress their
current girl friend!
The station and transmitting tower at Longford, which was placed under the
management of PMG technician, Georqe Kendrick, provided excellent
reception. Mr. Kendrick's experience with radio had begun with his service
in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. The local announcer
during that time was Hugh Wasley.
The Programs
Local residents provided the few local sessions that were called for, for
the next 14 years, working on a part-time basis. There wasn't much to do -
local news (by courtesy of Gippsland newspapers), sporting results, market
reports and an odd record or two.
For the last 8 years of that period, W.A.Thompson kept the flag flying,
assisted during some of the war years by Charles Peckover who was attached
to the station under emergency broadcasting plans at the height of the
Japanese invasion scare.
Occasionally during that period, the studio was used for special
purposes - an evacuated English child recorded a message for home and a
Greek airman attached to the RAAF at East Sale recorded a similar message
in both Greek and English.
However, due to difficulties of receiving FM in the mountainous areas,
particularly in East Gippsland, local residents helped win the fight to
retain the old 3GI AM transmitter on Longford Hill in conjunction with the
3MT transmitter which serves Omeo. We believe we are the only ABC regional
station in Australia to transmit the same program on both systems.
The Future
3GI will go digital in its 65th year. That will mean a whole new look at
the way we broadcast. No more is broadcasting just a DJ and a microphone.
No, we all have to be computer literate and adapt quickly to change. The
Internet is now an integral part of our daily life and we have a
"Backyard" page that will keep you up-to-date with what 's
happening in news and local events not only in Gippsland but also around
the nation.
|
