Pacific Radio News #12 ---------------------- June 2006 News from the non-profit radio history people of the Radio Heritage Foundation at www.radioheritage.net 'sharing the stories of Pacific radio' In this issue: -------------- Kiwi icon 'pirate' Radio Hauraki 40th Birthday WIN with our 'pirate' Radio Hauraki Competition! Australian content expands US Armed Forces Radio New Guinea memories New Zealand Low Power FM PAL Shortwave Radio Guide Australian Radio Historian hits the road and much more 'pirate' Radio Hauraki Celebrates 40th Birthday ----------------------------------------------- Kiwi icon since the 1960's, 'pirate' Radio Hauraki is holding a big birthday bash in Auckland later this year, and here's the good news! As the official 'pirate' Radio Hauraki website, www.radioheritage.net will bring you news of all the events, original radio jingles, adverts and airchecks, exclusive photos from private collections of the '1480 Good Guys', official 'pirate' radio merchandise, competitions, and, of course, we're throwing open the doors to the '1480 Club' so you can register and catch up with old friends from the 1960's and enjoy the top Kiwi music of the era. Watch for the specially designed 'pirate' Radio Hauraki pages, coming soon to www.radioheritage.net. WIN 'Shoesting Pirates' by Adrian Blackburn ------------------------------------------- We've got one copy of the original pirate radio book to give away. Just answer this question - what was the title of the first song played on the 'pirate' Radio Hauraki 'born' back in 1966? Hint....it's got two words and the second is 'free' and it was sung by Matt Monroe as the title song for a movie of the same name about a lioness! Just send an email headed 'pirate' Radio Hauraki with your name and mailing address and the correct answer to: info@radioheritage.net before July 31 2006. Competition open worldwide. One entry per person please. Tell your friends and watch for more 'pirate' Radio Hauraki competitions at www.radioheritage.net. Australian Content Expands -------------------------- Thanks to financial assistance from the Australian Government, we're able to expand our Australian radio history content at www.radioheritage.net. Amongst the latest material, you'll enjoy 'Koalas, Kangaroos & Kiwis' - The Australian Radio Listener Clubs. A social phenomenon of their times, some grew as big as 65,000 members, and another raised over $1m for charity in just over 30 years. The Chatterbox Corner Chums from 3AW Melbourne could probably still get airtime at today's talk radio 3AW! You'll find over 100 clubs listed, plus photos of some of those nice Radio Aunties and Uncles..... Meg McSpeerin led the 2CH Women's League for over 30 years, and you'll find the story of this remarkable woman and her 38,000 strong club at www.radioheritage.net along with Trocadero Club Christmas Party photos and more....... Early radio serials still have their fans, and Grace Gibson Productions churned out thousands of hours of such popular programs as 'Dr Paul', 'Dragnet' and 'Nightbeat'. Grace was a young American girl who moved to Australia, and you'll read about the opening of her big new studios in 1952 at www.radioheritage.net, see the stars and learn how those serials were made and marketed. She never lost a penny on a single show either...... Coming soon, more in our popular series of Long Lost Australian Radio Stars. You'll see the photos, read the biographies and go back to the mid-1940's at 2NZ Inverell, 3BO Bendigo and 4CA Cairns. These join many others already at www.radioheritage.net such as 2CA Canberra, 2CH Sydney, 3MA Mildura, 3CV Central Victoria, 2HR Hunter River, 4BU Bundaberg, 7HO Hobert and 7LA Launceston... US Armed Forces Radio New Guinea Memories ----------------------------------------- John Dietrich helped establish WVTB Nadzab near Lae in 1944. Before going to New Guinea, he broadcast to American troops over 4QR Brisbane. Now, at www.radioheritage.net, you'll find his exclusive story: 'The Pioneer Radio Voice of New Guinea, WVTB', published for the first time ever, and lavishly illustrated with images from his personal collection. The watercolor painting of the WVTB studio is a unique item of war time artwork....... On Christmas Day 1944, WVTB held an outdoor broadcast covering the 'Christmas Olympics' and John Dietrich was the play-by-play announcer. At www.radioheritage.net you'll find the letter John wrote to his folks back home describing the broadcast, along with photos of the baseball match, even John's scorecard....and coming soon, you can listen to rare audio of the broadcast. Taken from a fragile shellac recording made by WVTB that Christmas Day over 60 years ago, and exclusively with John's story: 'WVTB Baseball Olympics 1944'. Also coming soon, 'Jungle Network News' takes us behind the scenes of the AFRS stations in New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. Anecdotes from the announcers, news about the invasion at Leyte, and an exclusive guide to these AFRS Jungle Network stations only at www.radioheritage.net. Read about other AFRS stations in our ongoing series, now covering AFRS Alaska, AFRS Japan, and AFRS China-Burma-India. New Zealand Low Power FM Radio Guide ------------------------------------ At last, the only [almost] complete guide to all LPFM radio stations ever to broadcast in New Zealand from the 1990's to today! Almost 500 stations, over 1000 frequencies, and coming soon to www.radioheritage.net. The guide will be searchable by station name, location or frequency, and we're currently testing an interactive version so station owners can keep their listings right up to date. This is the first complete guide of its kind for these LPFM stations that are found all over New Zealand and keep the spirit of radio alive amongst today's generation. PAL Shortwave Radio Guide ------------------------- Now online at www.radioheritage.net, the latest seasonal changes for all domestic and international shortwave broadcasters in the Asia and Pacific region. These are detailed listings of frequencies, transmitter powers, beam, programs, callsigns and more, and now available for easy download in pdf format. Bruce Portzer's exclusive PAL Shortwave Guide joins his popular Mediumwave Guide, and together, they list some 6000+ stations with some 50,000 data entries. A FREE resource for every worldband radio listener, radio enthusiast, radio engineer and anyone interested in knowing more about radio in fast growing markets like China and India, as well as the rest of Asia and the Pacific. Australian Vintage Radio Historian Hits the Road ------------------------------------------------ Perth based Steve Savell is touring Australia in July, visiting some two dozen vintage radio collectors to gather material for his exclusive DVD set about Australian vintage radio. Interviews with original radio designers and manufacturers and previously secretive collectors, plus exclusive footage, photos and material will highlight this amazing DVD production. Register your interest in Steve's Vintage Radio DVD Set today ------------------------------------------------------------- We'll have more about Steve's journey at www.radioheritage.net shortly, plus release date and how you can order a copy. Register your interest to buy a set today by sending an email to: info@radioheritage.net with 'Vintage DVD' in the header. Also, order your set of Steve's Vintage Radio Medallions Collection from us today at www.radioheritage.net. We have some sets still left. But wait, there's more ---------------------- Throughout July, listen to Radio NZ International [www.rnzi.com] for our two new radio heritage documentaries. One covers 'Babyboomer Radio' in New Zealand with lots of 'pirate' Radio Hauraki jingles, original ads and great Kiwi music from the 1960's. The second covers 'Pacific Radio' with an exclusive overview of today's challenges facing radio around the islands, plus hard to hear station ID jingles from Niue, Tonga, Samoa etc.....and the original ZCO Tonga interval signal played on a noseflute. Lots more new stuff at www.radioheritage.net as well: more Long Lost Radio Images, the new look Top 20 stories, winner of the Children's Art Competition run in association with the Japanese Embassy [NZ], how to buy our Top 50 Radio Books and Top 15 Vintage Radio books and more. News to use ----------- Please use any of these items, our media releases etc and tell your friends and colleagues about our great site: www.radioheritage.net.....where it's all about keeping our Pacific radio history and heritage alive. We're supported by individuals and businesses who share our vision to protect the past for future generations. Donations to keep free access to the website are welcomed, and volunteers who'd like to help can email us at: info@radioheritage.net today. Whether it's $1 or one hour of your time, you can make a difference! David Ricquish Chairman Radio Heritage Foundation PO Box 14339, Wellington 6241 New Zealand www.radioheritage.net PS..don't forget to enter our 'pirate' Radio Hauraki competition! PPS.unsubscribe requests may be sent to: info@radioheritage.net with 'unsubscribe' in the header.