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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.


Wavescan N504, October 21, 2018

Emus Invade a Regional City in Australia [2BH Broken Hill et al.]

The current Great Australian Drought has engulfed much of the verdant productive lands in the state of New South Wales, as well as in adjacent areas in nearby states. In their desperation, many of the Australian native animals have invaded nearby towns and cities in an attempt to obtain water and to forage in available grassy areas.

The desperately dry conditions in the four eastern states and territory have resulted in numerous out-of-season bushfires, even though the area is just emerging from the southern winter. The federal government as well as the effected state governments are providing an unprecedented $1.8 billion in relief funding, mainly to farmers whose livelihood has been destroyed.

As we presented here in Wavescan two weeks back, mobs of hungry and thirsty kangaroos have invaded the national capital Canberra, where they are foraging for grass on private property, in sports grounds and on roadway verges. Some local citizens have been providing water and feed for the ailing kangaroos.

The current drought scene in a regional country city in New South Wales has another twist to it. Instead of mobs of kangaroos invading the city area, it is mobs of emus; the city is Broken Hill, which is located in a desert area close to the border with South Australia.

In fact, the mining city of Broken Hill is closer to the South Australian capital city Adelaide than it is to its own state capital, Sydney. Broken Hill has traditionally observed the same time zone, SAST, South Australian Standard Time, rather than EAST, Eastern Australian Standard Time.

The flightless emu is the second largest living bird by height and weight, outdone only by the African ostrich. An adult emu can stand at a little over six feet, it may weigh anywhere up to 130 pounds, and it can sprint when necessary at 30 mile per hour. The emu will swallow anything; metal, plastic, small stones, car keys, nuts and bolts, glass. These ingested non-food items aid their digestive processes.

Interestingly, the male emu incubates the eggs laid by the female, and during that time it will seldom eat or drink. After hatching, the male nurtures the young emu chicks.
Sometimes at a country fair, informal racing will take place, with younger adults mounted on flustering and blustering emus.

Hordes of emus have recently invaded Broken Hill, and they have been seen on almost every street as they move around searching for food and water. Mobs of emus by the hundred have taken over this small mining city in far west New South Wales; they have been observed running laps along the main street, eating in domestic gardens, and gate crashing and interrupting at football matches.

Local authorities have urged the populace not to provide food and water for the invading emus, but rather to place these items on the outer edge of town, as an encouragement to the emus not to enter the populated areas.

So let's take a quick look at the history of this area and its radio stations.

Back in the middle of the 1800s, sheep farming pastoralists began to move into the areas around what became Broken Hill. The huge ore deposit at Broken Hill was first discovered in 1884, and it is claimed as the largest deposit of silver, lead, zinc, and gold anywhere in the world. The local mining companies extract two million tons of ore each year, most of which is generally shipped in massively long train loads to Port Pirie in coastal South Australia for processing.

The largest solar power plant in the Southern Hemisphere, generating 53 MW, was installed there during the year 2015.

The first mediumwave radio broadcasting station in Broken Hill was granted a license on May 26, 1931. This new commercial radio station with 50 watts on 1365 kHz was granted the callsign 2XL and it was inaugurated on August 18 (1931) at its sole location opposite the Courthouse in Argent Street. However, due to lack of income from advertising, the station was closed on April 15 during the following year (1932).

At that stage, Officer Eddie Jinks of the Department of Civil Aviation took over the station, and he installed it in his home under the callsign 2HX, with the same transmitter in Railway Town. As with other amateur broadcasting stations back during that era, programming was on the air generally on Sunday mornings.

On one occasion, the windup spring in the station gramophone broke, and he made an appeal over the air for another gramophone. Several listeners responded within minutes with their gift of another gramophone for the station. Eddie Jinks closed his station 2HX in 1937 when he joined the staff at commercial station 2BH.

The well-known mediumwave broadcasting station 2BH was inaugurated on June 30, 1934 with 100 watts on 1360 kHz. The original transmitter equipment at 2BH, with the callsign obviously indicating Broken Hill, was initially in use with two broadcasting stations in Adelaide; commercial station 5DN and the well-known amateur broadcasting station 5BQ. A few years later, another transmitter was installed for 2BH in Broken Hill, and this unit was previously on the air with 2GB in Sydney and then 5DN in Adelaide.

During the early years, programming came from two different sources; local production and recordings from 5AD in Adelaide delivered to them by train.

At 10:45 am on Christmas morning 1938, 2BH in Broken Hill carried a Christmas greeting from the fictitious station 2SG in Snake Gully. The so-called Snake Gully radio station was sometimes featured in the episodes of the raucous 15 minute commercial radio serial Dad & Dave, supposedly based in the small tourist town of Gundagai.

During the tragic days of World War 2, station 2BH fostered a Relief Concert on October 21, 1944 to raise money for the needy. This hour long program was also broadcast on shortwave, via station 8SK at the Flying Doctor Base out near the Broken Hill airport. Three shortwave channels carried this program: 2020, 4130 and 6690 kHz.

These days, station 2BH is still on the air, though now on 567 kHz with 500 watts. They have taken out an FM channel also, though they have opted to remain on mediumwave for wider area coverage.

The front facade of their studio building, at 25 Garnet Street just off Argent Street, is a local tourist attraction; it is stylized in brick with the appearance of an old time radio receiver. The transmitter itself is in a lonely and isolated desert area a little north of the northern suburbs.