Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Government House Sydney
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa

Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

In greeting you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather, I pay my respects to Elders, past, present, and emerging, and acknowledge the enduring connection of First Nations’ people to country, to culture and to music.

When I was asked, as Patron, whether there might be a celebration here at Government House, to celebrate 2MBS Fine Music Sydney’s 50^th Anniversary, my first reaction was – 'but 50 is so young – can’t we wait until there is an auspicious birthday – 75 at least'!  I jest, of course, but even thinking of it, for a 50-year-old, 75 is not so far away, so you’ll be back here sooner than you think.   

To be serious, there is more than a bit of magic about 2MBS Fine Music Sydney – from the very beginning something was spirited out of thin air and turned magically as it were, into, not only an icon, but an institution.

However, the real magic was in the boldness of those founding members who were determined to pull off what, at times, must have seemed like madness – to run a radio station simply to play music! – and all to be done by volunteers.  With a couple of promotional music concerts, including at Darlinghurst’s Cell Block Theatre behind them, these magicians built the first transmitter with only $300 in the bank. 

Tonight, we are privileged to have several of those foundational members here with us:

• Max Benyon – who – without a YouTube guide! - spearheaded the design and construction of the first FM transmitter; ably assisted by
• Graeme Wilson - a former Ch 7 and Sydney Opera House technical officer;
• Charles Barton – the studio’s ‘go to’ man;
• David James – who was advised by founder Trevor Jarvie (sadly, no longer with us) to “quit that awful TV job” to work in a place where there was no premises, no equipment and no money;
• Reverend Howard Cocks - Treasurer of that ‘non-existent money’;
• John Xuereb – who introduced jazz to the classical list, after being found standing around with a few jazz records under his arm;
• Leona Geeves – who did the same for opera; and was a great supporter of the arts, generally; and
• Douglas Keech – who created the first ‘computerised’ mailing list using a punch card system. I am told some of those early subscribers didn’t even know they were contributing!

Indeed, not only was it the first FM music station, it was the very first FM radio station in Australia, having been granted a licence on 27th of September 1974 by the Australian Broadcasting Control Board (ABCB).

The first broadcast was at noon on 15 December 1974, from a temporary site with an aerial on the roof. FM, and community radio was born! 

On 16 January, at 1 am, with at least 41 listeners, the station switched to stereo FM becoming the first stereo FM station in Australia.  

The official opening was on 1 February 1975 by then-Premier Tom Lewis, in the presence of then-Opposition Leader Neville Wran. A message of support was received from Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, whose government had strongly supported the development of the community radio sector across a number of different interest groups.

Those early days were summed up by Tom Zelinka recalling his first midnight shift in 1975:

"My resources were seven-inch vinyls. As a beginner on radio, I found that cueing these records where the tracks lasted only two minutes was a challenge. Trying to do in-between announcements added an almost insuperable degree of difficulty. The first 20 minutes on air were hell! I couldn’t speak. Finally, I managed to say ‘Hello, Listeners’." [1]

Fortunately, for Sydney, ‘Hello, Listeners’ has continued through 50 years of quite extraordinary changes in music recording and broadcasting technology and infrastructure.

Today, the dedicated 200+ Fine Music team are the programmers, engineers, electricians, technicians, interviewers, recording artists - and often, in those early days, all of the above - simultaneously! 

This past year, you have tackled the challenges of re-locating the transmission tower from one of Sydney’s tallest buildings, Governor Phillip Tower.  This was a significant and game-changing investment. You have also launched an App for iOS and Android, enabling listeners to tune in, including from other parts of the world.

All this has been achieved while remaining proudly volunteer-owned and operated, with a minimal number of paid staff, and assisted by the enthusiastic and loyal Fine Music family of subscribers, donors and other supporters. Thank you.

To put not too ‘fine’ a word on it: 2MBS Fine Music Sydney, you have not only changed, you have shaped Sydney’s musical landscape. You provide the finest music across the airwaves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and for that, Dennis and I as inveterate radio and music lovers - along with (at last count!) over 350,000  others, are truly grateful.

May I also congratulate 2MBS Fine Music Sydney for its scholarship and artist-in-residence programs, a wonderful initiative – as you will have appreciated with the performance of the Outback Brass Quartet.

It is a great honour and pleasure, as Patron, to celebrate this remarkable ‘very young’ half century milestone.

Congratulations, 2MBS Fine Music Sydney!

[1] Fine Music Magazine December 2019, 'The genesis of a program', Tom Zelinka p 4.