Auckland Notes

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 39, 11 April 1930, Page 12

Auckland Notes

(By

Call Up

"AUCKLAND listeners were well pleased with the broadcast of the Sarron-Donovan fight, the landline relay being most satisfactory. The northern boxing association has again declited to have an important fight broadcast, the latest ban being on the Morgan-Paul contest dt the Town Hall on Monday, April 7. This action, in view of the fact that the big Wellington fight was very fully broadeast, and yet drew a crowd of 17,000 spectators, seems to be nothing more than a case of "dog-in-the-manger." NE of the best turns on lust week’s programmes from 1YA was the Mati trio, composed of three Rarotongan natives, Their half-dozen items were particularly appreciated, the combination of banjo, mandoline, and guitar being most pleasing. Thi« trio is to be heard again in a few weeks’ time, and will be looked forward to. OCAL listeners will be interested to hear that Mr. Owen Pritchard, programme organiser at 1YA, is to be married on Haster Monday morning: Mr. Pritchard has been connected with 1YA for about twelve months, taking up his present position last De--cember, and he will receive the hearty congratulations of 2 large number of artists and listeners. It swill be re- membered that his predecessor in the position, Mr. D. H. Wrathall, who is now programme organiser at 4YA, married early in March. There is evidently some compensation in this otherwise thorny job of programme organising! . WITHIN the space of one week 1YA listeners are going to hear five new singers, including a new tenor. These constitute an addition to the ranks of local broadcast artists which

should be particularly welcome. The new singers and their dates are as follow :-April 22, Mrs. J. J. Sullivan, soprano, and Mrs. Gwenda Berg, contralto; April 24, Mr. Rex Hart, tenor; and April 27, Miss Freda Litherand, soprano, and Mr. W. McMichael, baritone. While there seems to be a good number of singers for the programme organisers to draw upon, there is a decided dearth of good instrumentalists. Mr. Archie Don has been chosen ‘to give the commentaries on the items rendered at these recitals. GTATION 1YA is always looking for novelty programmes, and is very ‘successful in the search. The latest for which arrangements are in hand is a Savage Club entertainment. This should provide listeners with something unusual, and will be featured on the programme shortly, although no actual date has yet been arranged. qt is possible that Miss Millicent O’Grady, one of the most popula: regular 1YA artists, may be leaving Auckland for the south shortly. Miss O’Grady, besides being well known as 2 soprano soloist, has sung yery well with Mr. Len Barnes in duets, and is also a member of the Radio Scamps so that she will be sadly missed if she leaves. Harnest endeavours are being made to make it possible for her. to remain in Auckland, but if she does go south it will be someone else’s gain. Ty was announced that talks on bridge would be given from the station shortly, and a number of other interesting talks have been arranged., A new Jeparture from the present arrangement of programmes will be commenced in May. when occasional recitals lasting half an hour, both vocal and instrumental, will be given. The first of these is to take place on May 2. PECIAL arrangements for 1YA during Easter week have now, been drawn up. On Good Friday the three hours’ service from St. Mary’s Cathedral will be broadeast, this being from

12 noon till 3 pm. The same evening au special service fram the Beresford Street Congregational Church will be relayed at 7.80 p.m., and this will be followed by a studio concert. On Sunday the morning service will be from St. Mary’s Cathedral, and the evening one from the Pitt Street Methodist Church. During Holy Week there will be a marked absence of light items from the programme. The Ellerslie races will be broadeast on Easter Monday, and the station will also be on the air that evening. AMUSEMENT was caused by an announcement made through the loudspeaker system at Western Springs

Speedway on a recent night. During the interval between two races near the beginning of the programme, it was announced that the owner of a small closed model car parked in the enclosure was required at the entrance as he had carefully locked the doors of his car and her left the engine running. As the doors were locked officials were unable to reach the switch to turn the motor off, and it ran for some considerable time before the owner appeared. T is a well-known fact that broadcast artists and station authorities are often blamed for bad reception that is really the fault of the receiving set. Last week two such examples were brought to "Call Up’s" notice, in each case a listener saying that 1YA’s service was so poor that he would not renew his license. On a suggestion being made that their sets might be at fault both were quite indignant. It took proof that the latter was the case, by letting them listen-in to a neighbour's receiver, to convince them that 1YA’s service did not deserve all their uncomplimentary remarks, and they have both decided to renew their licenses after all. It would be a good thing if many more disgruntled listeners called in an expert to test their sets before they put all the blame for pooi reception on artists and station authorities.