The Titahi Bay Transmitter, which until 16 February 2016 was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's second tallest structure, transmitted AM radio signals from a 220 metres tall

radio mast Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

insulated against ground at Titahi Bay in New Zealand. The station which previously had three masts, now consists of only one mast with a height of 137 metres. A third – smaller – mast with a height of 53 metres was toppled on 10 November 2015. The tower's surrounding buildings were opened in 1937. Five radio programmes broadcast on four frequencies from the tower: #

Radio New Zealand National RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

on 567 kHz # Star and

AM Network AM or Am may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A minor, a minor scale in music * ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album) * ''A.M.'' (Wilco album) * ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album) * ''AM'' (Arctic Monkeys album) * AM (musician), American musician ...

on 657 kHz # Newstalk ZB on 1035 kHz # Te Upoko O Te Ika on 1161 kHz In 2004 the tower was refurnished, badly corroded parts were removed and replaced, the whole tower was sand-blasted and repainted, and an array of LED warning lights were added at the behest of the NZCAA. According to workers refurbishing it, scaling the tower takes 45 minutes. From the top there are views of the entire Kapiti coast region. The site formerly transmitted Radio New Zealand's shortwave service, these broadcasts used a series of shorter free-standing masts supporting curtain arrays. Under the right conditions, the AM signal for National Radio can be received as far north as Norfolk Island and as far south as

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. The

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

owns the land surrounding the tower, which is leased to Radio NZ for the transmitting towers, to the local Titahi Golf Club, and as farm land. The site is located within Whitirea Park, and is planned to come under the control of the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

. Only in recent years has the station's emergency power generator been replaced. The previous one, supplied by the American military after the Second World War, formed part of the driving machinery of a submarine which was no longer required. The site was never used for overseas telephone links, which (before the advent of undersea cables and satellites) were provided by two

New Zealand Post Office The New Zealand Post Office (NZPO) was a government department of New Zealand until 1987. It was previously (from 1881 to 1959) named the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department (NZ P&T). As a government department, the New Zealand Post Office ...

radio stations, Makara Radio (receiving) west of Wellington and Himatangi radio station (transmitting) near Himatangi Beach. Only a limited number of voice circuits were available, and overseas toll calls were expensive.

Demolition

On 14 October 2015, it was announced that the tallest tower (220 metres) would be removed by March 2016, due to health and safety concerns caused by corrosion issues. The smallest tower (53 metres) was demolished on 10 November 2015. On 16 February 2016, the tallest tower was demolished. The remaining 137m-high mast is now responsible for all transmitting duties.

Notes

External links

*
Radio New Zealand websiteRadio New Zealand International websiteTitahi Golf Club website, with picturesLocation map for Titahi Golf Club
{{coord, 41, 5, 46, S, 174, 50, 34, E, type:landmark, display=title Towers in New Zealand Radio masts and towers Buildings and structures in Porirua 1930s architecture in New Zealand

Demolition

See also

Notes

External links