Piano, Chairs and the Microphone

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 24, 21 December 1934, Page 20

Piano, Chairs and the Microphone

Studios Presented a Deserted Appearance During 1YA’s Final Concert ~ Broadeast From Old Premises-1ZB’s Popular Sports Announcer Resigns-Electric Signs For New 1YA Allowed at Last. ,

Last Saturday the staff at 1YA had td work while packers and Catriers were busily engaged in removing the contents of the old studio and offices in France Street, Newton, down to the new palatial home in Shortland Street. Practically the whole staff was engaged in the removal, which was carried out before 5 pam. The studio und offices presented a deserted appearunee when the studio orchestra and others who gave the concert programme from the studio performed there for the last time. Practically all the furnishings which remained were a piano, i few chairs and the "mike." WER. W. J. HINDMAN, the weliknown sports announcer, wio has been heard for many moons from the Friendly Road station, 1ZB, has resigned from this organisation. He announced this fact himself in an Auckland weekly last week, when he

expressed his appreciation to his wide circle of listeners for the generous manner in which hig efforts before the microphone have been received... Barly in the coming year.he will be hear« from another Auckland B. sfation. 1ZM, so it is rumoured. AFTER all the Auckland = City Fathers have agreed to ‘allow the Broadcasting Board to erect four elec--trie "1YA" signs on the top of a 100ft steel mast on the roof of the station’s new studio in Shortland Street. Some weeks ago when the application was first made to the City Council, the request. was refused because it was contrary to the by-laws, At last week's meeting, the Works Committee, after receiving a deputation from the board, recommended that as the broadcasting service was a national undertaking the decision should be rescinded, under the modification clause of the particular by-law governing the erection of signs. An amendment was lost, the committee’s recommendation being carried. The Mayor, Mr. G W. Hutchison, twitted some Labour councillors for opposing a request made on behalf of a service which had been taken over from private enterprise and had been socialised. "It seems to me that from that point of view you should support and assist the Broadcasting Board," said the Mayor. Each letter of the electric sign will be 12 feet high, The mast on which the signs will be fitted is one of the two 100ft. masts which have carried the old 1¥YA aerial on the top of George Court’s building. A NOVEL broadcast was carried out last Sunday night from the Civic Theatre when the Friendly Road Station, 1ZB, relayed several songs sung by Jan Kiepura, the Polish tenor, from the talkie picture ‘""My Song For You" In addition, Barry Brettoner, the young Australian organist who plays at this theatre, was heard in several selections on the giant Wurlitzer instrument. FAVE members of that active organisation, the Auckland Dickens . Fellowship, will each present a Dickens sketch at 1YA on Monday next, Christmas Eve, between 8 and 9p.m. Most of the sketches will have a Christmas flavour and all will be of a light nature. Mr. Tom Clarkson, president of the Fellowship, is in charge of the programme, and other performers will be Mrs. Kenneth Gordon, Miss S. F. Statham, Mr. T. Vivian and the Rev. C. B, Perkins. ‘ HERE was a real "Christmassy" atmosphere on the air from 1YA on Thursday night of last week when the first Christmas performance of Handel’s immortal oratorio, the "Messiah" was relayed from the Pitt Street Methodist Church, An augmented choir sang exceedingly well undér the baton of Mr. Albert Bryant,

‘the whole performance being notable for the sharply defined work of the chorus and the finished way in which the four soloists, Miss Phyllis Hazel, Miss Nancy Hickling, Mr. Frank Sutherland and Mr. Horace Maddocks, sang the exacting arias. Mr. Edgar Randal presided at the organ. Good reports of the work have been received at 1YA from many listeners. [NX erecting the new transmitter for 1YA at Henderson, the Broadcasting Board has looked ahead many years, for provision has been made in the building for likely developments and extensions in the future, At present the 10 kilowatt transmitter takes up only’ one side of the large building. The other half of the hall has been reserved for a second transmitter which may be. required for Auckland in the not too distant future. It was considered more economical to provide for that now than to alter the building later. Myr. J. R. Smith, the Board’s chief engineer, who personally conducted me on a Visit of inspection of the new plant last week, stated that the equipment had been-so designed to enable the: transmitter to be increased: in power from 10 to 60 kilowatts by the addition of one more power unit. GTA TION 1¥X, at present housed and operated from the roof of Lewis Wady’s Building in Queen Street, will shortly be dismantled and reerected in the new 1YA building in Shortland Street, from which both 1YA and 1YX programmes will be presented. The change over will be made in the one night, and there will be no break in the’ broadcasts of the auxiliary. station. However, the work will not be undertaken until one of the 100ft. mastg is taken down from George. Court’s building and re-built on top of the new studio.