Station

Townsville Radio

Special Broadcast for Islands

AT the recent Pacific Administrators’

Conference held in Canberra, Major C.

W. C. Marr, Minister-in-Charge of Islands Territories, stated that investigations were being made to evolve a scheme under which a special broadcast from Townsville would be made available to residents of the Pacific Islands.

In order to obtain more details of the scheme we wrote to the Postmaster-Gen eral’s Department of the Commonwealth Government at Melbourne. We have now received from the Director-General of that Department an official statement regarding the proposed broadcast.

The communication is as follows: “In connection with your inquiry of April 13, 1934, regarding Islands Broad casting Service, satisfactory reception of broadcasting in the Pacific Islands under the control of Australia presents some

difficulties in the absence of suitable sta tions in those territories.

“A short wave station, 3LR, located near Melbourne, is operating on a frequency of 9580 kc/s (31.31 metres), and recently commenced transmitting programmes of the National Broadcasting Service each evening between the hours of 6.15 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. daily, except Sundays. There is a possibility of satisfactory reception of this station in the Islands judging by re ports already received from other places.

“A contract has also been let for a high powered national broadcasting station at Townsville, Queensland, and it is antici pated that this station will be in operation by the end of the present year. It is ex pected that this station will give improved broadcasting facilities to listeners in the Islands generally.”