VK4BBL Easterling re VIH 1994

1990sDocument1994

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8 Itnguin farade,
Burleigh Waters, Q'ld 4220
27th September 199ly (et on)

VK7RO, Hobart:
Dear OM,

At last a start on the letter about VIH. Although I have visited the station
(early 1967 .just before the fires) I did not have the pleasure of working there.
I've worked with many of the people who did and the,vwore urranimous in their praise
of the station and the Hobart lifestvlB - and their regrets at having to leave it.

As mentioned previou$1.v, VIH was the s econd of the "fonnar Cos,st Stations to be
sot up; VIM the first on 8th Fobrunry 1912 and Hobart on 30th April. H`|wover there was
an ''informal" ship-shore service set up ln Sydney b.v special license to the
Australasian 1'/iroless Company. Its f'ir.st operations were from the Bulletin Building
and shortly after fr.om the 6th floor of the Australia Hotel. Thiswa31n 1910: the
per.Init issued on 27th August.

Aa far as I can ascertain, the first recorded ship-shore radio communication in
Australia was in 1899 when staf.f of the WA Post Office conducted test transmissions
between the Ro.yal Yacht Club, Perth. and a police launch on the Swan River. This wag

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1901 and a few weeks later the Hobart boys had their turn with that ship. You will
recall the re-enactment some .years ago. In Brisbane HMCS "Gayundah'. was fitted and
communicated with ro staff -this was in 1900.

ReoommBndation for setting up the Stations came from a committee of "G a,nd
Defence L`e|)artnent representatives in 1907. The need for wireless safet.y came in
Jul,y 1909 when SS Waratah was lost on paBgage f ron South Africa to Australia. There
was also concern about German intentions in its Pacific t©rritorieB. In September
Commonwealth Government pr'ovided £10,0001n the estimates.

Then the fun started with competing companies taking each other to court. You
can re}ad about it in "Taming The T.vrant" by E. C. Harcourt ISBN 0 0J+ 994.0112. Very
well wr.itten. a most interesting insight into our early telecommunication I)roblBms
both technically and politically.

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Randwiok Wireless V\brks in Sydney. These stations "rer`e operational well aho&d of
S.vdney and Ibl+h.

The upshc)t of the litigation was the combining c)f Australasian Wireless,
Telefunken and Marconi Company into Analgama,ted Wireless Augtl.alagia, A.W.A.

All told,19 stations mere sot up between 1912 and 1914.. Their r8rnges ove}rlappod
Slightly. At night when the 500 kHz range extended the smaller stations were not
neede!d and so Hobart, Egperance,Gemldton, Roebourne and RDckhampton operated daytime
only. In 1914 all came under Nav,v control: I am uncertain but feel it likely that
all would have been on continuous watch.

Navy contl.ol continued until 1920 when it reverted to "G and in 1922 to AWA.
OTC took control in 1946.

In 1927 AWA opened the b®bm Service to Fngland with equiplnent at Rockbank and
Ball&n, well inland. MelbourltoRadio oeasod operation at the Dctmaln and transferred to
the Qroen Street office in Melbourne with remote control of its transmltt®m at the
inland slteB.

During WW2 all stations went back on continuous watch. Tom Weekes told IIi® about
2

the good life at VIH. There rag a good fire burning throughout the winter and it was
a real homeawa.vfrom home. The dut.v ciperator provided a kettlet of boiling water for. the
relief'9 Cuppa so that he could thaw oiit af.ter the long cold walk up to the station.
Watchkeeping was pr.ett.v intense: never knew when some faint QRP lif'eboat distress Call
was likely. Tom was a most interesting and entertaining OIC; he was a junior Signals
rating on "AS Sydney whom she sank the Emden at Cocoa I91and. He did a stint at Thursday
Island VII during the war ('hrw2) and then back to VIH, never expeict;ing to bo transferred
age.1n but in 1953 he her to come back to VII -and how he hated it .'.' He did have a ham
callsign but I cannot locate it.

After the war small shi|)a started fitting radio ln earnest: a mixture of oorrvel`ted
dispoaals Stuff along with oounercially nado: you rill recall the various Small compenl®a
of that time along with the big boys. It was then that VIH came into its own; very good
propagation being near the Soa. 2524 kHz was the popular lnterahip frequency but not
being an inter.national distress fbequeney the CRS was not licensed for it. We used 6280.
The problem wag that 2524 was the big seller and the companies optimiged the centre
loaded whips f'or it; on 6280 the signal was very poor. Iventually the Radio Branch
insisted that plain whips were to be used and ATui, swhtohable. mandator:)r. I think that
this Ss when the smaller mamfacturers dropped out. Later on di9tross a,nd calling
frequencies in the 2 and 4. mHz bands wore allocf ted along with I`adfon®8 with channel!
right across the 2-30 mHz range.