| |
|
"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 466, December 7, 2003
Radio Stations for Children and Young People
Each year on December 9, All India Radio conducts what they call "Children's Broadcasting Day". This annual event places children from many regions and languages on the air, and it encourages children of all ages to aim for excellence in any sphere of life.
In this edition of Wavescan we honor All India Radio for their annual "Children's Broadcasting Day" and we present this feature on children and young people in radio broadcasting.
Let me begin this feature on childen and radio by telling you the true story of "The Little Boy Found".
Back in the year 1939, many thousands of people living in the coastal areas of China migrated inland, away from the political and military strife. At the time, a Chinese opera star was in the United States with her husband, who was on study leave. The opera star made a special broadcast over the new shortwave station KGEI, which had recently been installed on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.
The opera star sang several lullaby songs in Chinese, and then she made a dramatic appeal. She was seeking her four year old son, who was missing in inland China due to the turmoil caused by the mass migrations. A few days later, she and her husband returned to China and they were reunited with their newly found son. An American missionary in China had listened to the shortwave broadcast over station KGEI and had made the arrangements for the happy reunion of this little family.
We go back into radio history now and we note that the first regular radio program for children was a book reading presented over station WJZ in Newark, New Jersey in 1921. The first children's broadcast on shortwave was presented back in 1930 over a station called "Radio Experimental" in Paris, France. These programs were beamed to the French Colonies on 31.65 metres, corresponding to 9480 kHz.
Other shortwave stations have also been on the air with programming specifically produced for children. In 1954, the Adventist program, "Your Story Hour", made its inaugural broadcast from the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in Colombo, and this program was subsequently absorbed into the regular scheduling of Adventist World Radio. In 1987, Trans World Radio beamed specially-produced programming in Mandarin into China for the benefit of China's three million children.
In the mid-1980s, Radio Lollipop was launched in England as a cable radio station in children's hospitals. Personnel from the English Radio Lollipop assisted in the launching of a similar closed-circuit radio station in the children's hospital in Perth, Western Australia, and this was followed by similar attempts in India.
Over the years, several attempts have been made in many countries to launch radio stations operated by children, and Radio Lollipop also began to move in that direction. However, KIDZ Radio in Leicester, England claims to be the first fulltime radio station operated by children. They can be heard on 103.2 FM and also on the internet at takeoverradio.com.
Better known are the myriads of radio stations operated by students at colleges and universities, and in the United States alone there are more than 2,000 of these stations, on both AM and FM. On shortwave, one of the best known and longest running student stations was UKE-Sender in Norway. This station also issued highly-valued QSL cards. Radio Student was on the air in Yugoslavia in 1973, and last year there was Radio Rasant in Germany, and Emerald Radio in Ireland that was on relay from WWCR in Nashville, Tennessee.
Over the years, some of the international shortwave stations have issued QSL cards that were designed by children. Among these stations are Radio Taipei International, Radio Moscow, China Radio international, and Adventist World Radio.
As a matter of interest, a special version of the Baygen wind-up radio was designed and manufactured in South Africa for the benefit of orphaned children in Africa. This radio receiver was designed for ease of operation, and it was distributed free. It was funded by grants from welfare and charity organizations, and it was not sold commercially.
The Boat Under the Bridge
A while back we presented a story here in Wavescan about the New Zealand passenger vessel, "Awatea," that made many voyages across the Tasman between Australia and New Zealand. This ship was also on the air at times with radio broadcast programming for which QSL cards were issued, and these days these cards are quite rare.
Down in the island of Tasmania, Rex Arnott came across the radio script containing our feature item on the "Awatea" on the Pacific Heritage website in New Zealand. Rex tells an interesting story of earlier years, back in 1939.
At the time, a high profile radio comedian on the air in Australia was the New Zealander Jack Davey, who was heard in the evenings on nationwide relay with quiz programs and other similar audience participation programs. During the day he was on the air over the mediumwave station 2GB in Sydney.
It so happened that Jack Davey's father, Captain A. H. Davey, was the Master of the passenger vessel "Awatea". Now, it was the pride of the passenger liner "Awatea" to pass under the Sydney Harbor Bridge at exactly 8:00 am on arrival day, and then tie up at the wharf at Darling Harbour, half an hour later.
Rex Arnott states that he remembers on many occasions listening to 2GB on arrival day, and he would hear Jack Davey in 2GB talking on the radio with his father on the "Awatea". In true comedian fashion, if per chance his father was ever late, this provoked a season of verbal sparring over the air.