THE WEST AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY BROADCASTING EXPERIENCE
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"The perception of what broadcasting was all about was shattered by the entry of stations like 6NR and 6UVS in 1976 and '77 to the Perth airwaves. There were stumbles, there were gaps on air, there were records played at the wrong speed, but while one can remember the rather horrific anecdotes that form part of that early broadcasting history and indeed one might even add broadcasting mythology, now there’s a sense in which the ordinary person [has] the ability to come and express and share their perceptions of what life in Australia was all about, and in particular what life in Perth was all about, and to be seen to be a bona fide broadcaster." |
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Murray Green, excerpt from his Address to the Annual General Meeting of the West Australian Public Broadcasting Association (WAPBA), February 1988 |
When Murray Green gave his celebrated address to WAPBA's Annual General Meeting in 1988, only five community radio stations were broadcasting in Western Australia, each of them in Perth. These were the days when "community" broadcasting was known as "public" broadcasting; when WACBA - the sector's brand new peak body in WA - was WAPBA; and when the notion of a community access television station operating in Perth bordered on the utopian.
Almost 12 years' earlier, in October 1976, Western Australia's first community radio station had commenced transmission. It was the ninth non-government, non-commercial public broadcasting station in Australia, following bravely in the path forged in 1974 by Sydney's 2MBS-FM.
Known as 6NR ("NR" stood for "New Radio"), the Perth station's inaugural transmission met with a mixed reception: zealous enthusiasm by a new breed of volunteer broadcaster; the bemusement of the general listening public; and abject horror by some radio "professionals" who predicted a speedy demise to what they disdainfully termed an experiment in amateur radio.
But despite any scepticism, the alacrity of Perth's public (community) broadcasters won out. Located on the campus of what was then the West Australian Institute of Technology and transmitting on 927AM, 6NR rapidly acquired a loyal audience of listeners enamoured by its diverse programming and commitment to local issues.
In April 1977, 6NR was joined on the West Australian airwaves by another public station. Broadcasting from the University of Western Australia, 6UWA distinguished itself by inaugurating transmission on Perth's newly created FM band. The following year, with Murdoch University as its new licensing partner, 6UWA became 6UVS, and went on to forge a faithful following among established, and newly acquired, public radio enthusiasts.
The hard work, innovation and optimism had paid off.
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Copyright 2002-8 WACBA. All rights reserved. |
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Brian Williams presenting a 100FM jazz program at the "George Street Festival" OB in East Fremantle |
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6NR's first station manager Duncan Graham |
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Video tape operators and presentation coordinators at Perth's community television station, Access 31. |
