Broadcasting in N.Z.

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 26, 8 January 1932, Page 30

Broadcasting in N.Z.

History Sketched ip RIOR to the formation of the Broadcasting Company, several stations were in existence in different parts of the country. Station 3A0, operated by Mr. J. I. Smail, of Christchurch, was the first commercial station to be on the air in the Dominion. The stations broadcasting at that time were mainly operated by amateurs and were not of sufficient power to give an efficient service to the Dominion. What was needed was a big organisation with capital to erect up-to-date stations in the four main centres, The Government of the day realised that for the common good of the country a unified system of control was necessary and as the outcome of its investigations, it decided that private enterprise, governed by regulations, would be best suited to the Dominion’s needs. This meant that the risks of establishing a new business would fall on private citizens.

So, in 1925, at the request of the then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand, Ltd., was formed by Messrs. W. Goodfellow, A. R. Harris, and Wm. McKellar. Mr. Harris had had technical experience in the United States, having heen for a time a research worker in the laboratories of Thomas A. Hdison, and he took charge of the business as general manager. The company was under contract to the Government to establish four 500 watt stations. The first of these. 1YA, was established in Auckland. Me came 3YA, Christchurch, At the , quest of the Government, the company agreed to increase the power of 2YA) at Wellington to 5000 watis, making it, in actual practice, the most power ful station in the Dominion and Australia. Following on the erection of 2YA came 4YA at Dunedin. The company had many difficulties to surmount in building up the service. New Zealand, from a topographical point of view, is an awkward country to provide with an efficient Service, but in the six years that it has been controlling the system the company has steadily increased the transmitting hours, improved the quality of transmission, and, by its efforts, has increased the number of listeners from less than 3000 to a total of 71,000. During the last session of Parliament it was decided to transfer the undertaking, which had been put on a profitable basis by the company after five years of losses, to a board.