Albany’s only community radio station, Great Southern FM, celebrates 30th birthday

Albany’s only community radio station celebrated a major milestone this month, welcoming the community to mark its 30th birthday.

About 20-30 people stopped by for the celebrations on November 5, enjoying tea, cake, a chat, and a chance to hop on air and explain why, and for how long, they listened to the broadcaster.

Presenter Kathy Suggate said despite competing with the Melbourne Cup, it was a “good day”.

“We had people dropping in to have cake and coffee and have chats,” she said.

“We met some people who’d been at the station before, people I didn’t know because I haven’t been there quite as long.”

Great Southern FM began broadcasting in November 1994 as a weekend-only station out of a shared room in the Italian Club on Albany Highway, largely using borrowed broadcasting equipment.

The station gained a permanent broadcasting licence a month later to go to air for an audience of 38,000 people in the areas of Albany, Mt Barker, Wellstead, Denmark, and Walpole.

By January 26 1997, the station was broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the following month moved to Lotteries House on North Road, where it remains thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the generosity of donors, sponsors and members.