Historical local radio in New Zealand

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quickymart

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#299331 29-Aug-2022 22:12

As some of you know I'm a bit of a radio buff. I grew up in a rural area with one local radio station, that doesn't even exist anymore! (Most of them don't actually, not in their original form anyway).

Just for fun, what was/were the local station(s) you could receive and listen to growing up where you did in NZ? I don't mean "oh, More FM" - I mean the heritage stations before they were rebranded to their network names today - and not the likes of National Radio or Concert FM as they were nationwide networks ☺️

In my case:

Radio Scenicland (Greymouth) - today known as The Hits

and later:

Fifeshire FM (Nelson) - today known as More FM

What were yours? 📻

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#2960999 29-Aug-2022 22:29

Dunedin - 4XO became More FM, 93Rox ended up...The Rock.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Defunct_radio_stations_in_New_Zealand

shk292

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#2961001 29-Aug-2022 22:32

We had an offshoot of 3ZB in Ashburton in the late 70s but I can't remember if it had a different letter code. Might have been 3ZE

Lias

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#2961035 30-Aug-2022 07:24

2XS FM in Palmy with Mike and Baldrick

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Behodar

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#2961037 30-Aug-2022 07:47

1XX in Whakatane still exists with the same name :)

aschteev

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#2961041 30-Aug-2022 08:14

In Southland, we had 4ZA, which then became Classic Hits ZAFM, which then became Classic Hits, which is now The Hits.

Foveaux FM was the local station before it became More FM. I even seem to remember one Clarke Gayford being an announcer on this station a long time ago... I wonder what he is up to now.

nickb800

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#2961044 30-Aug-2022 08:28

2XX in Kapiti became More FM

alasta

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#2961046 30-Aug-2022 08:37

C93 in Christchurch was my favourite. It started off with a contemporary hit radio format but struggled to compete with ZMFM, so in the late 80s it rebranded to 93 Gold and then Classic Hits 93FM. In the early 90s it became C93FM again, but with a classic rock format which continued through until the Radio Otago/Radioworks merger in the late 90s when it took on an adult contemporary format. Unfortunately at that point its target audience overlapped too much with MoreFM and it was eventually scrapped.

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allan

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#2961050 30-Aug-2022 09:03

2XP in New Plymouth, became 2ZP. I'm talking 1960's/1970's here. On AM of course back in the day - I think 1053 or thereabouts. Frequency decommissioned as far as I know. It's successor would have been a NewstalkZB station on FM.

As a side note, the wonderful Marama Martin (Koea) began her broadcasting career there and later became a TV continuity announcer and was the first live person to be broadcast in colour in NZ when colour TV arrived.

trig42

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#2961051 30-Aug-2022 09:03

89FM in Auckland was one of the first FM stations (on 89.4, now NewstalkZB). I remember listening in the late 80s.

had (I think) the Top Marks (Mark Staufer and Mark Kennedy) as their breakfast hosts (Skoda Convoy rings a bell).

Wiki here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/89FM_(Auckland)

quickymart

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#2961198 30-Aug-2022 15:40

allan:

2XP in New Plymouth, became 2ZP. I'm talking 1960's/1970's here. On AM of course back in the day - I think 1053 or thereabouts. Frequency decommissioned as far as I know. It's successor would have been a NewstalkZB station on FM.

As a side note, the wonderful Marama Martin (Koea) began her broadcasting career there and later became a TV continuity announcer and was the first live person to be broadcast in colour in NZ when colour TV arrived.

That's a blast from the past! Might have been 1050 back in the day - we only moved to 9kHz AM spacing in 1978, until then it had been 10kHz, like the Americas are today.

I think my local station would have been on 750, before moving to 747.

allan

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#2961214 30-Aug-2022 16:05

quickymart:

allan:

2XP in New Plymouth, became 2ZP. I'm talking 1960's/1970's here. On AM of course back in the day - I think 1053 or thereabouts. Frequency decommissioned as far as I know. It's successor would have been a NewstalkZB station on FM.

As a side note, the wonderful Marama Martin (Koea) began her broadcasting career there and later became a TV continuity announcer and was the first live person to be broadcast in colour in NZ when colour TV arrived.

That's a blast from the past! Might have been 1050 back in the day - we only moved to 9kHz AM spacing in 1978, until then it had been 10kHz, like the Americas are today.

I think my local station would have been on 750, before moving to 747.

Yes I think you are correct about the frequency. I know it wasn't too far away from 2ZB's, but 2ZB was quite difficult to pick up reliably in New Plymouth - probably Mt Taranaki got in the way 😀 I do recall desperately trying to find Radio Hauraki when they began broadcasting in the mid 1960's.

PolicyGuy

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#2961216 30-Aug-2022 16:08

Back in the 1970s, River City Radio 2ZW, part of the Radio NZ Commercial Network.
I remember it on 1197 kHz (AM), it must have been 1200 kHz before 1978.
That 1197 frequency has subsequently been taken over by Newstalk ZB

Soon after I arrived, I discovered National Radio (now RNZ National) then and still now on 567 kHz AM - no more adverts for me. Also locally on 101.6 MHz FM.

The 567AM frequency is transmitted from Titahi Bay north of Wellington and can be heard all through Kapiti, Horowhenua, Manawatu, Whanganui and South Taranaki as far north as Hawera

quickymart

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#2961220 30-Aug-2022 16:15

I've stood under the old transmitter, it was a big-ass huge powerful thing. I've picked it up as far north as Auckland and as far south as Dunedin!

It was knocked down a few years ago: https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/76930461/titahi-bay-radio-new-zealand-transmission-mast-demolished

PolicyGuy

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#2961250 30-Aug-2022 17:42

quickymart:

I've stood under the old transmitter, it was a big-ass huge powerful thing. I've picked it up as far north as Auckland and as far south as Dunedin!

It was knocked down a few years ago: https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/76930461/titahi-bay-radio-new-zealand-transmission-mast-demolished

The smaller of the two masts is still there, and it's still from where at least 567AM and 576AM are broadcast AFAIK:

(screenshot from Google Maps)

The old transmitter was 300kVA and the radiated field was strong enough even twenty to fifty meters away to strike the arc in a 900mm fluorescent tube and cause it to shine

wally22

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#2961263 30-Aug-2022 18:16

In 1981 the Broadcasting Tribunal held public hearings to canvass how FM radio might be introduced to New Zealand, and what stations should be granted the first licenses and frequencies. Fowler represented all the student stations at the hearings, arguing that student radio was a progressive broadcast outlet for music, and thus most suited for the higher fidelity frequency. He followed up the presentation with an application for an FM licence. Later that year Radio Active 2XA AM began preparations to become Radio Active 89FM, having been granted New Zealand’s first FM radio licence.

With the new transmitter built and a steel mast installed on top of the Student Union Building, Radio Active 89FM’s inaugural broadcast was on 22 February 1982. This marked a year of what the Evening Post called “FM Firsts” for the station, the other being the outside broadcast of the Blam Blam Blam/Newmatics/Naked Spots Dance orientation show in the Student Union building. The show was New Zealand’s first outside broadcast in FM stereo, and the station followed up with OBs of The Fall, The Birthday Party, Hunters & Collectors, and New Order (the first ever live recording of the band, who were working on ‘Blue Monday’ at the time).

https://www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/radio-active-history-1

But I grew up in 50's - 60's Whangarei to 1XN and later had a massive (length) aerial to receive Hauraki from the Tiri. A large V from the 2 south corners of our "section" meeting at my bedroom window. With that I received Hauraki at the same strength on both 1480 and 493 kHz.

A Radio Active lifelong supporter.

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