Dennis Burtenshaw, listener, UK
I joined Radio Australia as a listener in 1965. We had returned back home to England after emigrating to Australia.
One evening I tuned in my shortwave radio and found very few stations. One stuck out as it was playing really nice music followed by an arrangement of Waltzing Matilda. After the time signal I heard a very familar tune that made the hairs on my neck stand up. It was ‘Majestic Fanfair’ and the announcer said: “Here is the news from Radio Australia.”
I had many letters answered on Mailbag by Keith Glover and on one occasion he sent me a studio copy of a programme on a cassette tape as reception had been so bad. A listener needed to qualify to join The Listeners Club, another program with Keith Glover who was assisted by Warren Moulton. I became a member and proudly wore my Green Badge, until one day it disappeared, which was quite upsetting, as it had been very difficult to get in the first place.
Reception had always been a problem but with the building of a new high power relay at Carnavon it greatly improved. An evening service to Europe was put in place and provided some of the clearest reception we have ever had. It meant that we could hear Mailbag and Listeners Club a day early, as they were the first editions to go out. An SSB signal was used as a backup studio feed to Carnavon on 12290Khz and provided a good signal into Europe for many hours a day.
Later, we were amongst the first to hear RA via satellite, as RA is always finding new ways to get its programmes heard. Now the distance makes little difference when using the web.
The music of RA has always attracted me and in 1980 there were several hundred versions of Waltzing Matilda in use. I corresponded with many announcers who often took the time to reply in length and would often send me autographed pictures. They would often say ‘hi’ during the breaks between programmes to certain regular listeners, and listeners would ‘phone to tell the announcer that reception was good. RA has always been like a friend, ask a question or request a tune and they will try to oblige.
When I wrote to Roger Broadbent at Feedback asking for an obscure tune from the 60s, he found a copy and kindly played it. I asked about the news theme and he researched all the tunes used by the ABC and played them. He also found some remaining copies of the old Waltzing Matilda stings and played those too.
I hope it will soon be possible to find a replacement for Mailbag and Feedback as these programmes bring us closer together.
Congratulations and many happy returns. Long may you continue to bridge the distance gap. Here’s to the next 70 years.
About the author
Dennis Burtenshaw is a long-time listener from the UK.
