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3YB FM is a radio broadcaster based in
Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It transmits on the frequency modulation radio band, at a frequency of 94.5 MHz. The station is part of the
Ace Radio Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales, as well as the digital marketing agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free ...
FM network. It has an adult contemporary music format mixed with talk such as Mornings with Neil Mitchell syndicated from
3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693  kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...
. The station has one of the most unusual histories of any Australian radio station, having commenced broadcasting in 1931 as a mobile station, prior to permanently settling in Warrnambool in 1935.


History


The 1930s: Mobile Station, and the move to Warrnambool

Between October 1931 and November 1935 3YB was a mobile station,
broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
around Victoria in areas that did not yet have local stations. In 1931, the only stations in rural Victoria were: 3BA Ballarat,
3TR TRFM (Callsign: 3TFM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting from Traralgon, Victoria, Australia. It is currently owned by Ace Radio & broadcasts A Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR) format. It features both locally produced content & nationally ...
Trafalgar, 3GL Geelong, 3WR Wangaratta, and 3BO Bendigo.R. R. Walker, ''The Magic Spark'', Hawthorn Press, 1973 It broadcast first from a
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
car and Ford truck, and later from a railway carriage originally built for the 1899 Royal Train, and first used for the
1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...
visit of Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, and the
Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...
. 3YB's founder was Vic Dinenny but the concept of the station was the brainchild of one of the station's original broadcasters and engineers Jack Young of Ballarat, after whom the station is named. The mobile station had a limited power of 25 watts, meaning that it could only be heard in a small regional area at any given time. The way the station operated was that it would move into a selected town for three weeks. The first week was occupied with setting up the station, particularly the broadcasting mast and other technical gear. Concurrently, local businesses were visited and advertising was sold, although Dinenny also secured a few national advertisers. During the second and third weeks the station broadcast daily from 6.00 to 10.00 pm. The record library was divided into 14 complete programs, ensuring that there was no repetition of records during the two weeks that the station broadcast from a town. The first town to be visited, in October 1931, was
Creswick Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populatio ...
. Warrnambool radio pioneer Oscar V. Henry; technician and manager Harry S. Fuller; and salesperson Sid Kemp were also important to the beginnings of 3YB.Hugh Adams, ''3YB: Pioneer of Country Broadcasting 1931-1981'', Collett, Rain & Gaspar, Warrnambool, 1981 As more and more rural stations opened in Victoria, the concept of a mobile station became less practical. Therefore, Dinenny applied for and received licences for two non-mobile (or conventional) stations, one in Warrnambool and the other in
Warragul Warragul is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. As of the , the town had a population of 19,85 ...
. The opening of the Warrnambool station, which retained the call sign 3YB, was due to take place on 27 December 1935 but, due to problems with the
transmission tower A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. In electrical gri ...
, the opening was postponed to 8.00 pm on Saturday 18 January 1936.


Ownership

Within a few years of moving to Warrnambool, 3YB became part of the Argus Broadcasting Services network, along with 3UL Warragul and 3SR Shepparton. This Victorian rural radio network was operated by The Argus, then a daily newspaper. When ''The Argus'' closed in January 1957, their radio network evolved into the Associated Broadcasting Company which owned 3YB until it was sold to Regional Communications Pty Ltd in 1982, and then, in 1990 the station was purchased by two private shareholders. The current operators,
Ace Radio Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales, as well as the digital marketing agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free ...
Broadcasters purchased 3YB in 1995. In the late 1980s/1990s and into the early 21st century, the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Austr ...
embarked on a policy of increasing the number of regional radio stations, particularly on the FM band by inviting existing AM stations to start a second station, serving the same market. Some stations chose to start a brand new FM station, whilst others elected to move their existing station to the FM band, whilst also starting a new AM station on their former wavelength. 3YB fell into the former category, with its sister station, 3YFM (broadcasting as 95.3 Coast FM) commencing operations on 14 August 2002. However, as from 2 July 2018, 3YB has also broadcast on the FM band (see below).


Studios

The first 3YB studio in Warrnambool (and its first permanent studio) was at the property ''Wentworth'' on Weir Road. On 16 April 1945 there was a disastrous fire at the studio and transmitter complex at ''Wentworth'', and 3YB was forced off the air for three weeks! On 5 May 1945 the station re-opened, broadcasting from new studios on the 1st floor of the T & G building on the corner of Leibig and Lava Streets. This studio served the station well until August 1968 when new purpose-built studios were opened at 95 Timor Street.


Broadcasters

Many prominent broadcasters commenced their careers at 3YB. These include: Ron Cadee, Vern Haycroft, Denzil Howson, Rod Kilgour, Mike Menner, Barry Seeber, Rod Spargo, Michael Taft, and
Mal Walden Mal Walden is a former English-born Australian retired journalist and television news presenter based in Melbourne. On his retirement, he was reported to be the longest continually serving face on Australian television with a media career spann ...
. Long serving news presenter Lois Chislett has won a number of Australian Commercial Radio Awards for best news presenter for a country station including in 2012.


Move to FM

On 2 July 2018, 882 3YB converted to the FM band by swapping frequencies with
Vision Australia Radio Vision Australia Radio is a network of eight radio stations in Victoria, amongst some other states in Australia. It is owned by Vision Australia. The stations broadcast a range of programs, generally consisting of readings of newspapers and mag ...
's Warrnambool station. It is now known as 94.5 3YBFM.


On-Air Schedule


Weekdays

* 12:00am–5:30am - Australia Overnight * 5:30am–6:00am - Country Today * 6:00am–8:30am - The Morning Rush with Sean Cullen and Matthew Monk * 8:30am–12:00pm - Neil Mitchell * 12:00pm–1:00pm - 70's and 80's Lunchbox * 1:00pm–5:00pm - Dave Drinkell * 5:00pm-6:00pm - Christian O'Connell Show * 6:00pm–8:00pm - Sportsday * 8:00pm–12:00am - Better Music, More of it


Saturdays

* 12:00am–6:00am -Australia Overnight * 6:00am–7:00am - Reel Adventures * 7:00am–8:00am - 3YBFM Sports Saturday * 8:00am–9:00am - Good, The Bad And The Ugly * 9:00am-10:00am- The 3YBFM Racing Show * 10:00am–12:00pm - Off The Bench * 12:00pm–6:00pm - Better Music, More of it * 6:00pm–12:00am - Saturday Night Songfest


Sundays

* 12:00am–6:00am - Saturday Night Songfest * 6:00am–9:00am - Sunday Country * 9:00am–10:00am - Dave Drinkell * 10:00am–12:00pm -Classic Hits Countdown * 12:00pm–9:00pm - Better Music, More of it * 9:00pm–12:00am - Down Memory Lane


References


External links

*
Denzil Howson Archive
{{Coord, -38.3871, 142.4852, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Radio stations in Victoria Classic hits radio stations in Australia Ace Radio