1989 Bright sparks Father Shaw
Recognised text
Text below was produced by optical character recognition and may contain errors. Check it against the original.
L& Hevid A ‘/"j %)VC(
Sit
NE of the most fascinating
Ti N,
characters in the very early g EXF EpI
history of the radio ol THE NEW |
FoRt ;
industry in Australia was
the man known as the
“Wireless Priest”, Father Archibald
Shaw. The story of how this priest,
responsible for raising funds for the
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the
South Pacific, came to be the first
Australian radio entrepreneur is
interesting enough. However, it
becomes a tale of national political
intrigue.
Father Shaw’s wireless works in
suburban Randwick was the centre of a
scandal which eventually resulted in the
resignationof a senator and the sacking
of the Navy Minister. This followed a
Royal Commission held two years after
Father Shaw’s death in mysterious
circumstances in the Coffee Palace Hotel
in Melbourne, days after withdrawing
large amounts of money. The coroner’s
verdict concluded ‘“‘indefinite”. The
administrator of St Patrick’s Cathedral
was convinced that Father Shaw had
been murdered. And a large amount of
money was missing.
Father Archibald Shaw was
responsible for establishing in 1910 the
first factory to make wireless equipment
in Australia. At its peak it employed
over 170 workers and was the only place
the people interested in the new and
mysterious art of radio could learn the
basics of the trade.
One of the most famous of Shaw’s
students was Ray Allsop, the talented
young engineer who built the country’s
\ AT 51
P ‘;::: bt ww‘“‘:“’ § opRsIs
i
Wy wUY ¥
Staff at the Wireless
Works in 1911. Father
Shaw is arrowed. Photo,
from the Sydney Daily
Telegraph, is by courtesy
of the State Library of
NSW.
first official broadcasting transmitter for for the missions fund by making 1916 was finally set at £55,000.
2BL, and who in 1938 was the first to wireless apparatus, Shaw wanted a A subsequent Royal Commission into
demonstrate in Australia the pre ticality wireless station to maintain contact with the administration of the Navy
of stereophonic sound. the Order’s distant missions in the investigated the circumstances of this
When Father Shaw set up his Wireless islands. Kirkby eventually established a sale and concluded that the price was far
Works, radio broadcasting was a long factory on the church land where too high and that much of the
way away. He was an unusual radio electrical and wireless equipment to equipment was obsolete.
pioneer, having grown up in Adelong Father Shaw’s designs was built. Jensen was apparently keen to liave a
and Tumut in NSW — quite a long way By 1911 they had formed the state-owned wireless factory, and it has
from Marconi’s Bologna and the family Maritime Wireless Company and been argued that he wasn’t supporting
villa where the inventor carried out his business was brisk. Prior to the First Shaw so much as resisting the mastery
first experiments. World War radio’s main use was in of the industry by AWA.
While Marconi’s mother’s family was ships. Soon after the deal was finally
the famous whisky distiller, the Shaw had a great sense of public approved, Shaw made a number of
Jamiesons, Archibald Shaw’s father ran relations and was quick to build on his withdrawals from his bank on Saturday,
the Adelong Hotel. His father’s interests reputation as the Wireless Priest. The 19 August 1916, returned to his hotel
extended to the local racecourse where local media supported the venture where he met Senator Long and handed
he was a steward, and he owned a horse proudly printing photos of his station’s him £1,290 (according to Long’s own
called Scandal! 250 foot high transmitting mast. admission in the subsequent Royal
One of the young Shaw’sfirst jobs in Shaw’s help with wireless Commission).
the carly 1890s was as a telegraphist at communications was sought by the Shaw was found unconscious on the
the Goulburn Post Office. After being South Pole Expedition of 1911, and Monday morning and he died five days
turned down by one order, the when the Governor Stanford Smith was later. He was only 43.
Passionist Fathers, in 1894 he found his feared lost in New Guinea, he was quick Some of the money was missing.
way to Yule Island in then British New to volunteer his services as were a team There had already been widespread
Guinea, where he worked as a lay of his apprentices. opposition in the press to the sale of the
missionary for the Missionaries of the He also established a wireless station Wireless Works. Shaw enjoyed the
Sacred Heart. As Brother Placid he on King Island linking it to Tasmania. support of the federal Labor
returned to Sydney three years later and When his fellow priests’ disapproval government who preferred to buy
was ordained as a priest by Cardinal of all this industry grew too loud, Shaw wireless gear from an Australian firm
Moran in 1900. went to see Cardinal Moran. rather than the bigger international
After acting as a chaplain to the troops “He was delighted and gave me his concerns. The Labor government even
blessing saying that if[ neededa little guaranteed to protect Shaw from any
camped on Kensington racecourse
financial help his secretary would litigation over patents, which had stalled
waiting to sail away to the Boer War, he
was made assistant Procurator of the assist me. He also hoped I would the early development of the industry.
Missions. His job was to manage the make it a life study as he wished all The Maritime Wireless Company’s
his priests to be leaders in science to boom days ended when Joseph Cook’s
large amounts of money sent from
help in every way the working anti-Labor party was elected to
France and Rome needed to establish the
classes.” government and orders were placed
three missions across the South Pacific
The Wireless Works boomed. As well with AWA, who were the
and to raise extra money to keep them
as supplying the government and representatives of the major firms,
supplied.
shipping companies with wireless gear, Marconi and Telefunken.
One of his first attempts involved
they worked on a prototype of an The Royal Commission couldn’t solve
selling large religious paintings, but this
the mystery of Father Archibald Shaw’s
gave very slow returns and was frowned electric car, erected a windmill to
generate electricity and even drew up death. But it did hear from Miss Evie
on by his fellow priests.
plans for aeroplanes and designed a Hoad, the manageress of the Jenclan
His next attempt at fund-raising
Caves House, who testified that Shaw
inspired even more resentment. He had a remotely controlled submarine torpedo.
had asked her to marry him and go to
basic understanding of electricity and However, as the profits came in they
America where he wanted to work as a
fascination with wireless. Another were invested in further equipment and,
radio engineer.
Catholic priest in Bathurst, Father when the government delayed While Senator Long resigned, the
Slattery, had only a few years before payments, Shaw turned to the Missions
Navy Minister, Jens August Jensen
replicated many of Marconi’s earliest fund to tide the company over. refused and was sacked over
experiments and established morse code Concerned at the chaotic state of the involvement of public funds.
communications over three miles. But finances of the mission and the The factory remained with the Navy
he had used the techniques mainly as a company, the Order sent out a special and after the war the equipment was
demonstration for science classes. In Visitator to investigate. He found that transferred to Garden Island. The site is
those early days there were few other Shaw had used almost £10,000 and
now an Army depot, and the large house
people to contact over the ether. directed him to sell the factory to repay where Shaw lived and operated his radio
Together with a local engineer called the debrt. station is still standing in Randwick.
Kirkby, Shaw spent his evenings after When the PMG decided against
work designing radio equipment and buying the factory, Shaw turned to a
building a large radio station in the friend and fellow race-goer, Senator Bright Sparks, eight Social History
backyard of the large church property Long from Tasmania, whose son Unit features on the early technical
where he lived. worked at the Wireless Works. Long history of the Australian radio
“It’s often 2am in the morning before drafted a letter from Shaw to the Navy industry commence on Sunday, May
[ get to bed and turn out at 5, but I'm Minister, Senator Jensen, offering to sell 7, at 1.30pm on Radio National and
not doing it for myself but for the the Works to the Government. Shaw Thursday, May 11, at 7.30pm on
Procure.” spent many months then in Melbourne Regional Radio. Stephen Rapley is
As well as intending to earn money negotiating the sale price, which in mid the producer.