A new exhibition will shine a light on the early days of broadcasting in Wagga Wagga. Photo: Museum of the Riverina.
With the Museum of the Riverina about to unveil it’s AUDIO/VISUAL exhibition, we thought we’d take a stroll back through the early days of broadcasting in Wagga.
Experiments with the magic of ‘wireless telegraphy’ had begun in Australia at the dawn of the 20th century but it was not until August 1919, that Sydney witnessed its first official broadcast.
Ernest Thomas Fisk of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA) relayed a gramophone recording of God Save the Queen (Australia’s national anthem!) from his offices in Clarence Street to the Royal Society’s building at Elizabeth Street North where he was holding a lecture.
“Had these things been done in the time of our grandfathers, Mr Fisk would have been taken to the duckpond and there treated for the exorcisement of the devil that possessed him,” declared the Casino and Kyogle Courier and North Coast Advertiser reporting on the ‘wonderful results’ of the demonstration.
In the wake of this humble experiment, the technology developed rapidly and public and commercial broadcasters were rolled out across the country through the 1920s and 30s.
In Wagga Wagga it was on a Wednesday night in June 1932 that the “Voice of the Riverina” 2WG crackled into life on 1152 kHz on the AM band.
The Daily Advertiser reported the broadcaster, with a range of 260 metres “was officially opened by Senator Charles Hardy last night in the presence of a large number of citizens”.
A musical program of Wagga artists got things off on the right foot and station manager, Mr E Roberts declared that the broadcaster intended to “feature local artists and talent, to foster local interests, and to make 2WG part and parcel of the social life of Wagga.”
While generations gathered around the wireless to enjoy music, dramas, sports and news, it would be more than three decades before Wagga residents could tune into television.
Australia officially joined the global TV revolution in September 1956 but Wagga had been preparing since 1954 with 2WG’s E V Roberts tasked with raising £200,000 from local investors to obtain a licence for Wagga.
“While undue optimism as to coverage must be avoided, it is expected that a surprisingly good range would be achieved,” he said.
While the roll-out was slower than anticipated, local media operators 2WG, The Daily Advertiser and Young’s 2LF joined forces to bring TV to the Riverina and a broadcast licence was awarded to Riverina Television Limited in October 1962.
Initially RVN-2 had hoped to build its studios on top of Willians Hill where they would have direct line of sight to the transmission tower on Mount Ulandra near Bethungra.
When Wagga Council rejected the idea, they tried for a second site below the hill on Lake Albert Road. However, council again opposed the plan and it was not until they threatened to relocate the entire project to Cootamundra that council agreed to rezone the site and permit them to proceed.
Two years after RVN-2 was awarded its licence a test pattern was broadcast for a week before Wagga’s first TV station was officially declared open at a gala event at 7 pm on Friday 19 June 1964.
The Royal Australian Engineer’s Band played the Australian national anthem live, the flag flew in the breeze and a bespectacled man in a tuxedo appeared.
“Good Evening, I’m Paul Griffiths. Welcome to the first program transmission from RVN channel 2,” he said.
And a new era of broadcasting had begun in Wagga.
The Wagga Wagga AUDIO/VISUAL exhibition opens at the Museum of the Riverina’s Old Council Chambers site on 11 June.
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