The Radio Australa Transmitting Station at Shepparton)

Transmitter hall in 1945

Satellite view of the site, May 2012

Entrance to the site, May 2012

I am pleased to announce the publication of my free on-line engineering research project, "The History of the Radio Australia Transmitting Station at Shepparton (Victoria)"

This is the story about the evolution, development, and current operations of the Shepparton facility from its beginnings back in 1943, when it was set up by the Australian Government for its External Broadcasting Service which became known as Radio Australia.

The Project includes many images not previously published on the internet, some sourced to rare internal printed publications of the Australian Post Office (former Postmaster General's  Department) – others are from the archives of Australian Libraries, Academic bodies, engineering enterprises, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and digitized newspapers.

Videos of the station, showing maintenance activities in 2010 and 2011 are included, as well as current satellite and ground-level images of the facility, which is located about 6 km north of the town of Shepparton, in north-eastern Victoria.

Some vintage QSls are also included, dating back to the 1940s.

The project is a smaller version of a larger on-line work I am producing titled  "The History of Shortwave Radio in Australia", which is currently in the final pre-release stage.

As a Chartered Professional Engineer, I provide specialized engineering consulting services to the broadcasting industry, and for many years I worked in the Radio Section of the former Postmaster-General's Department,  prior to the split into Australia Post and Telecom Australia.

I recall leading an engineering team in the design and fabrication of elements of the antenna switching system at Shepparton, as part of a modernization upgrade project.

The ABC, including Radio Australia, does not own or operate any transmission infrastructure – this is owned, operated and managed by the private  contractor "Broadcast Australia", and frequency planning and coordination of Radio Australia services is carried out by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

I am inviting you to explore the Project, which is at

http://bpadula.tripod.com/shepparton

I would appreciate your comments and reactions.

I hope you enjoy your visit!

Bob Padula

Melbourne