Wavescan

"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 N602, September 6, 2020

The Largest and Most Important American WW II Radio Station in Australia—What Happened Afterwards: An Interesting Sequel

The largest and most important American radio station in Australia during the Pacific War in the middle of last century was installed in five different locations in the areas around the city of Brisbane in Queensland. The main operating terminal was installed in the basement of the AMP Building in downtown Brisbane; a combined transmitter and receiver station was installed in Somerville House in South Brisbane; and a transmitter station was installed on the Redlands Golf Course.

The two primary facilities for this important radio station were the transmitter unit with its dozen shortwave transmitters and several rhombic antennas located due east of Brisbane at 180 Youngs Road, Hemmant; and the receiver unit south east of Brisbane at Old Cleveland Road East, Capalaba. Work on these two major facilities began in 1942, with joint cooperation between both American and Australian personnel.

The Americans abandoned both units, Hemmant and Capalaba, two years later towards the end of the year 1944, though the 40 kW PWI transmitter was first removed from Hemmant and taken to the Philippines on the American radio cargo vessel OL31. This transmitter that had been on the air in Australia under the consecutive callsigns WVJJ and WTO was installed in Manila under the callsign WTA. (The transmitter was installed in the Manila Country Club building; the receiving equipment was installed in what had been the Japanese radio receiver station; and the operator section was installed close by in the Trade and Commerce Building.)

Now: What happened to this American Transmitter Station and Receiver Station after the Americans left in 1944/1945? This makes a very interesting and important sequel which is almost unknown in radio circles in Australia. Here is what happened.

Both locations, the transmitter and receiver stations at Hemmant and Capalaba, were acquired by the Commonwealth Government, PMG Department, in Australia on August 20, 1946. A few month later, PMG radio personnel took over the operation of these two major facilities, and they became the operational headquarters for a new and important radio network throughout Queensland, the Emergency Radio Network.

The Australian state of Queensland is the second largest state on the continent and it stretches for 1,300 miles north and south, and 1,000 miles east and west. However, even though the eastern coastal areas on the edge of the Pacific are highly populated with several major cities, yet the inland areas are very sparsely populated.

Consequently, the inland areas of Queensland, as well as the sparsely populated northern areas, were in need of a communication system that would tend to tie the state together. The former American radio station at Hemmant/Capalaba began to serve this new radio development admirably, and radio station WVJJ-WTO became VL4EA.

Some of the American equipment at emergency communication station VL4EA was renovated, and new equipment was installed. At the transmitter station, some of the American transmitters were retained, and over a period of time, new Australian-made transmitters were installed. At the receiver station, likewise, renovated American and new Australian equipment was in regular usage.

Throughout the isolated country localities, small radio transceivers were installed, quite often a 60 watt RCAL SSB unit, together with one or two rhombic antennas. These small communication stations were installed generally at a local Post Office, or at an ABC mediumwave regional station. In addition, at each of the ABC mediumwave relay stations rhombic antennas were installed to provide an emergency program source from the shortwave stations VLQ and VLM at Bald Hills, north of Brisbane.

For example, emergency radio equipment was installed at the Post Office in Cooktown, way up north on Cape York Peninsula, under the callsign VL4ES. At Quilpie in south west Queensland, the callsign for the emergency radio station at the local Post Office there was VL4KY; and the callsign for the communication station in the Post Office at Coen, also on Cape York Peninsula, was VL4KB.

An emergency radio communication station was co-sited with several of the ABC mediumwave relay stations, and, for example, VL4EK was co-sited with the original 4QN at Clevedon, near Townsville. Emergency station VL4ER was installed with 4QY at Kamma near Cairns, and VL4EW was cosited with 4AT at Gwynne Creek, near Atherton.

All of these small communication stations in the Emergency Radio Network communicated, sometimes with each other, and ultimately with VL4EA at Hemmant/Capalaba. However. as time went by, and with the implementation of more modern forms of electronic communication, the usage of the Emergency Radio Network throughout Queensland slowly began to diminish, until finally it was no longer necessary, and it was then closed down.

Earlier on, the American usage of the Hemmant/Capalaba radio station had been phased out, and now even the Australian usage of this same facility came to a similar end. The property with the Hemmant Transmitter Station was sold to a former Lord Mayor of the City of Brisbane, Clem Jones; and later again to Ian and Roslyn McIlwain, who converted the solid main building into a comfortable modern residence.

The Capalaba Receiver Station was still in use as a communication radio station (though now with the Department of Civil Aviation) up until 2017. During the following year (2018), the property was listed for sale as a housing estate, but during the next year again, the property was purchased by the Redland City Council, specifically so that it could be restored as a listed Heritage Site.

In this way, a major radio building in Australia that was associated with the American participation during the Pacific War will be preserved, and honored, as an important historical reminder for those today who never knew the horrors of that tragic era way back then. The Capalaba Radio Receiver station was among the first in Australia to receive the information regarding the quick end of the Pacific War and the surrender of Japan in August 1945.

The American General Douglas MacArthur was responsible for the original initiative to have the station established, though by the end of the war he was then in the Philippines and the Americans no longer needed the facility.