Recently, the Barrier Truth covered a feature on the history of 2DRY FM as part of this month’s inaugural Radiothon for the station.
As part of that feature, Margaret Burrowes, the inaugural President of the station, was interviewed. Now, we dig deeper in a feature about the involvement Ms Burrowes had with 2DRY FM in their formative years.
In the 1980s’ Ms Burrowes was involved with the local community radio station in Griffith, and so she called a public meeting in Broken Hill to gauge the interest of the community in establishing the Silver City’s own community radio station.
“I thought Broken Hill needed something different, but we had a great turnout at our community meeting at the Workies Club, we had to get more chairs out for people,” a proud Ms Burrowes commented.
The inaugural meeting allowed for a draft Constitution to be accepted, and a committee to be formed, and it was down to work for the new Committee, led by Ms Burrowes as the President, and Kathy Reid as the Secretary.
“We had to find all the gear, such as an antenna, so we could broadcast, and the community radio station in Griffith helped us. Some of their technical people who were members with our group came out to Broken Hill and helped us set-up.”
The work required to establish a community radio station and to receive a broadcasting licence was significant, Ms Burrowes mentioned.
“Organising a community radio station truly took up a lot of my time, even to apply for the licencing took a long time because I had to type it all because we didn’t really have computers at the time,” she added.
When it came to airing a test broadcast, the licencing regime required an application for a seven-day test broadcast to be made at least three months in advance.
While Ms Burrowes had applied for a permit five months in advance, approval was never actually granted until she called the licensing body one afternoon, “and we got it through that afternoon.”
“When we had the test broadcast, it was just the best,” a beaming Ms Burrowes mentioned. The work and dedication of the entire Committee, as well as the support of the community finally paid off.
Ms Burrowes remained as President of the organisation for five years before she relocated. Nevertheless, on her return to Broken Hill, she renewed her membership of 2DRY FM, and has continued to retain her membership almost 35 years on.
Reminiscing on the station’s growth, Ms Burrowes said “it’s changed so much. We’ve got younger people coming through now, so we know the future will be strong for the station.”
As the printing deadline for this edition passed, the station has raised $3597 as part of their Radiothon.
To get involved, to donate, or for more information relating to the Radiothon, visit https://chuffed.org/project/2dryradiothon. This link also records the current balance of donations, of which 2DRY are watching with interest as the Radiothon progresses.
