AUSTRALIA'S FIRST RADIO BROADCASTS
1919-08-13 was the date of the first A.W.A. demonstration of music broadcasts. This was by A.W.A. Chairman, Ernest Fisk during a lecture at the Royal Society of N.S.W., at 5 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. The single valve A.W.A. built transmitter was at Wireless House, 97 Clarence Street, and the signal travelled approximately 100 yards. 20 telephone earpieces with tin horns attached were hung from the ceiling as loudspeakers. The transmission only lasted long enough to play the record “God Save the King”. Earlier, using 21 KHz. in 1918, Fisk was the first to communicate directly between Australia and the United Kingdom (using Morse code). In 1920, A.W.A. experimented with regular broadcasts of weekly concerts.
1920-10-13 saw a demonstration of music broadcasting by A.W.A. Chairman, Ernest Fisk, to members of Parliament in Melbourne’s Queens Hall, at the request of the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Billy Hughes. This signal also travelled approximately 100 yards, again using the record “God Save the King”. Weekly test broadcasts commenced three months later, being heard up to 1,600 kilometres away. Their 500 watt Marconi transmitter was at the Brighton home of the A.W.A. manager, Lionel Hooke. Lionel had previously accompanied Shackleton’s Polar expedition to Antarctica as the shipboard Morse code wireless operator. He was knighted in 1957, and appointed Chairman of A.W.A. after Ernest Fisk in 1962.
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Walter Coxon originally held a Morse code licence (callsign XYK) at Darlington in Perth. Walter was the first person in Western Australia to communicate with South Africa, Java, Holland, England, and America using Morse code. In 1918 Walter was the first in Australia to demonstrate music and speech broadcasts. This was from one side of the Perth Agricultural Show to the other. He was then granted Western Australia’s first broadcast licence as 6AG, with his transmitter at Highgate. He usually broadcast concerts from his lounge room.
Walter was appointed President of the Wireless Institute of Australia (W.A. Division). He was the first person in Australia to use a water-cooled transmitter valve, and was described as “The Father of Radio in Western Australia”, by the West Australian newspaper in 1928. He was the original Chief Engineer of Perth’s first commercial station, 6WF, and later equipped commercial stations 6ML, 6BY, and 6AM. Walter designed the popular Mulgaphone receiver which was built by 6WF, selling 1,200 at £50 each (10 weeks average wage). Walter also pioneered the technical work for the Royal Flying Doctor Radio Service in Western Australia.
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