Official Opening of 2YB New Plymouth

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 43, 10 May 1929, Unnumbered Page

Official Opening of 2YB New Plymouth

Important Announcement Concerning Relay Stations

xn ‘HE opening of 2YB on the ei evening of Saturday, April 27, . was an outstanding success, and has made radio a subject of prime importance throughout the whole Taranaki district. The official function in the studio situated on the premises of Collier’s Limited, New Plymouth, was full of sparkling. enthusiasm. The arrangements made passed off very satisfactorily and were a distinct credit to. the organisation undertaken by the North Taranaki Radio Society. Pleasure was added to the occasion by the receipt of numerous telephone calls from all parts of the district as the programme advanced reporting very satisfactory reception over a wide area. The advent of the station has met with a welcome reception from both Press and public, and it is plain that it will fill a felt need in the territory. HE official opening was marked by a number of important, though brief, introductory speeches. The Mayor of New Plymouth, Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths, officially opened the Studio and commented on the significance of the occasion, occurring as it did in the same week in which the district aeroplane hangar was completed. Mr. Griffiths conveyed. the thanks of -' the community to Mr. Payne, Station Director, and President of the North Taranaki Radio Society, and those associated with him, for their vision, energy, and enthusiasr in bringing the station into existence. He also extended a welcome to Mr. John Ball, and asked him to thank the Radio Broadcasting Company for the generors way in which it had responded to the request of the Taranaki Society for the equipment of the station. He hoped that the station would fulfil the anticipations of the promoéers.

supply the felt need of listeners, and shed happiness to all hearers. Me. S. G. Smith, M.P., represented the Postmaster-General at the ceremony and conveyed a message of goodwill. from the Postmaster-General. "The Government of New Zealand recognises the important place that wireless broadcasting occupies in the life of the community," telegraphed the Hon. J. Donald, "not only for pleasure, but also as a means of supplying to people in backblocks weather reports, market reports and other informatic regarding topics of the day. Radio and the telephone have removed much of the isolation of rural life. It is the desire of the Government to afford th.s modern adjunct of civilisation every facility to achieve ihe widest popularity. When the Radio Broadcasting Company commenced operations in 1925 there were approximately 8000 receiving licenses. At March 81, 1927, the number ha. increased to 18,162. In 1928, it was 39,315, and this year it is 44,810. Compared with other countries New Zealand suffers considerable disadvantages from a broadeasting point of view, as our population is neither large nor concentrated, and many stations are required to give good reception everywhere. I hope that licenses will continue to increase and enable improved facilities to be given to many places which at present do not enjoy first-class reception. At present our revenue is less than £67,000, as compared with £377,000 for Australia and $1,342,000 for the United Kingdom. In the circumstances, the

broadcasting company's service must be regarded as remarkably satisfactory. I trust that the new station 2YB will give che result that is expected in better radio service to the people of Taranaki, and I again congratulate them on having brought their efforts to a successful conclusion." Relay Siations. ME. John Ball, Editor Announcer of the Radio Broadcasting Company, in the course of his remarks made an important pronouncement on behalf of the Broadcasting Company concerning the possible future of a relay system throughout the Dominion. "This is indeed an auspicious occasion," said Mr. Ball, "and, speaking as the representative of the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand, Ltd., I feel it a privilege to be afforded this, and especially .to the band of radio amateurs whose enthusiastic enterprise has made possible the establishment. of a broadcasting station in New Plymouth, sincere and hearty greetings and good wishes. Such enthusiasm is indeed a great community asset, I am _commissioned by Mr. A. R. Harris, the Company’s General Manager, to express on his behalf, &nd on behalf of his codirectors, his and their hearty congratulations to the officers and members of ‘the North Taranaki Radio Society on the success that has attended their efforts, and the company’s best wishes for the successful operation of station 2YB. They desire me to say that the society’s solicitation of the company’s co-operation is deeply appreciated by them, realising as they do that the ‘development of a truly national and thoroughly efficient broadcast service is only possible by a strict adherence to the principles of unified control." -Continued on page 2.

2YB Opened (Continued from cover.) Mr. Harris had just telegraphed as follows: "Much regret being unable to be present to-night, but am much interested in listening-in at Sumner to official opening. Mayor’s speech is coming through splendidly. Portions of programme will » be re-broadcast by 2VA and 8YA. Auspicious opening with excellent programme augurs well for future of 2YB. Please extend to Mayor, Mr. Payne, and Radio Society heartiest congratulations from _ directors of Broadcasting Company." "The company," continued Mr. Ball, "readily responded to the society’s overtures for two reasons: First, because as part of its general scheme for the development of a comprehensive national service the company had had in view the erection at New Plymouth and other suitable places of relay stations for the purpose of relaying and re-broadecasting the programmes from the existing YA stations; and, secondly, because the company recognised that the fact that reception in this district from its super-power station at Wellington was more or less adversely affected, apparently by the screening effect of Mount Egmont, afforded reasonable justification for the operation of a local station until such time as it became possible to erect and operate a modern relay station. For these reasons, and because of the enthusiasm manifested by the society, the company had willingly and gladly extended to Taranaki listeners, through and tn co-operation with their society, a eoncession well beyond the province of the agreement under which it operated, and consequently involving the procuring of a special license. He need searcely add that from the company’s point of view the scheme under which 2YB had been brought into existence was not ambitious enough for such a rising town as New Plymouth and the prosperous district which it served. The company would impress upon listeners

that 2YB was not intended to give them a full broadcast service, but rather to fill in part the gap occasioned by exceptional conditions until circumstances should have made practicable the substitution.of something mucb better and more worthy of Taranaki as a whole. H® was optimistic enough to believe that this greatly desired development was already in the lap of the very near future. From the inception of the existing service the General Manager of the Broadcasting Company had visioned a perfected national broadcast system, in which there should be linked with the four main stations a chain of efficient relay stations located in the chief provincial centres, and extending from one end of the Dominion to the other, every one capable of effectively re-broadeasting the programmes sent out from the four big ‘stations. ‘"Tellow New Zealanders, we are indeed a fortunate people, for we have the opportunity of endowing our beautiful country with a broadcast service which in conformity with our physical and material circumstances shall be a veritable model of completeness and efficiency. n

t is my privilege to make public fact that the General Manager has already submitted for the consideration of the Government the carefully formulated outline of a scheme for such a developmental extension of the service. I invite you to try for a moment or two to visualise such a scheme in operation. Picture to yourselves a unified broadcasting service having primary stations in the main centres and relay stations-or broadcast outposts, if you will-in the larger provincial towns such as Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Napier and Hastings, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru and Invercargill. Picture all these centres connected by land-line in such a way that any matter of national importance or interest occurring at any one of these points will be automatically

proudcast at any point where there is a stution. In this way New Plymouth, for instance, will be brought constantly into touch with events huppening in any other part of the Dominion, and suuilarly, every other part of the Dominion will be kept in touch with important happenings in New Plymouth, and this entirely regardless of atmospheric conditions. Such a system wall brag to uit listeners the joy of undistorted reception and . to many, many thousands the boon of crystal reception. ‘he company’s ideal is to make it possible for the remotest listeuer within the confines of the Dominion to "tune in" under the best possible conditions and with the assurance of receiving satisfactorily that to which he or she desires te listen, whether it be entertainment, information or instruction. The experience of other countries proves beyond all question that there is only one policy under which this ideal is attainable in a country such as ours-the policy of unified private management under Government regulation.

* WSL, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the time nor the occasion for a lengthy address. Broadeast talks must necessarily be brief, and I. doubt if 1 should have been able to hold your attention for so loug, were it not that you are waiting in pleasant and, I hope, not too impatient, expectancy for the good fare that is to follow. However, before closing 1 feel that I ought to take this opportunity of assuring you that the company’s plan of development is by no means limited to the technical side of the service. Programme improvement commensurate with available resources is a fundamental plank in the company’s policy ; but beyond that there is a great field of national service of inestimable yalue to the community which the company is eagerly anxious to explore. Let me give you a brief glance into just one corner of that field, so that you may sense the tremendous potentiality of broadcasting as an aid to thé (leyelopment of primary production. As the result of carefully gleaned information the company is convinced that by the systematic broadeast of scientific instruction the productivity of the country can be enormously in-

creased and the material wealth and prosperity of the community proportionately enhanced. At the request of the general manager, one of the most eminent scientific authorities in the Dominion, Dr. Chilton, is at the moment engaged in investigating the possibilities of such a service, and we are hopeful that he will be able to formulate a scheme which in operation will result in the wringing of additional millions from our soil. Words of Advice. " AND now, finally, just a few words to the officers and members of the North Taranaki Radio. Society. You have got Station 2YB. What are you going to do with it? Make the most of it, no doubt. But how? As Shakespeare says, ‘Ah, there’s the rub,’ for there is just the danger that in making the most of it in accordance with the inspiration of a too abundant enthusiasm you may strain the breaking-point its limited capabilities. Discreetly operated in conformity with the facilities at your command it will unquestionably prove a boon to your community, and these few words are uttered in the hope

that they may induce you to nurse -" that boon with the utmost cure. My advice to you, if 1 may be permitted to offer it, is to take the long view, to always remember that those talented. people upon whom you must rely to provide you with ‘aeceptable jprogrammes are limited in number uud that to work the willing horse to death is a suicidal policy. Better, I think you will agree, to give your listeners two good broadcasts a week than to run the dual risk of wearyiug them by too frequetit and inevitable repetition, and of wearing out the enthusiasm of your willing helpers. o long as 2YB in its present form remains an active unit in our broadcast system, so long may it enjoy unbroken reign of popularity and pros rity. That, I assure you, is the sincere of the general manager. directors, officers of the Broadcasting Cé pany." oe A Big Yenture.

R. E. PAYNE, president of the North Taranaki Radio Society, in heartily thanking the Radio Broadcasting Company for its co-operation, said that the society realised that it had undertaken a very big venture in 2YB, and knew that it must seek and obtain the full and whole-hearted support of the entire province, Thanks were due to those who had given financial assistance to the society, especially Colliers, Limited, for the free use of their splendid building. "Mr. Ball’s pronouncement concerning the future policy marked," said Mr. Payne, "an important event in the history of radio broadcasting in New Zealand, and would undoubtedly be received with the greatest pleasure by the districts intimately concerned." He extended Taranaki’s congratulations to those districts. Mr. Payne was able to announce that they had already received congratulatory messages from Dargaville in the north and from Christchurch in the south. From that evenins 2YB would be at home to all Taranaki. The North Turanaki Radio Society would like the province to feel that the station was their station, and trusted that in the very near fuure it would be a constant and very welcome guest * every fireside in town and country.

A COMPREHENSIVE and appreciated musical programme was then given. Reception, as already indicated, proved satisfactory over a wide area, except in a fan-shaped area extending from Opunake on the west and the south of Mount Egmont to Stratfard in the east. In the Hawera, ception was good, but on the faint e, the strength being not equal to that at which 2YB was received from Christchurch in its preliminary test. This is interesting confirmation of the disability under which Taranaki has been held to suffer by reason of the mass of Mount Bgmont. It is plain, .-however, that the station will be of immense value to Taranaki rudi reception and materially to the scope of radio in that district,