Radio Monash’s Adventures to PBS Radio - and the importance of community radio

Rohan (left), Owen McKern (middle) and myself (right), posing outside of the old PBS doors from their Collingwood location.

In October last year, Radio Monash’s president (that’s me!) and Treasurer Rohan Kalanje had the opportunity to look around the PBS studio. Located in the heart of Melbourne in Collingwood, PBS 106.7 FM is a community radio station that has been proudly broadcasting local music content since 1979. It specialises in highlighting Australian musical acts as well as providing a service to the local community.

Myself and Rohan were lucky enough to be able to have a tour of the space, and learn about the incredible history of community radio in Australia. 

Can you believe Radio Monash is older than PBS?

With its humble beginnings, PBS had its first broadcast in 1979, after Felix Hoffman and Peter Jetson became aware that there was a need for a more progressive radio broadcaster.

They were frustrated by the lack of creative and community driven radio broadcasting in Melbourne, and thought they should give it a try. 

So in 1976, the very first PBS meeting was held at Felix’s friend’s house in Armadale, as he thought it wasn’t too appropriate for the meeting to be held in his parent’s house in St Kilda East. By the end of 1976, PBS was picking up steam, and had over 50 members from a range of backgrounds. From doctors and engineers to punks and musicians, this new radio station had plenty of community support.

Then in 1977, their first test transmission was a success and lasted over 78 hours of continuous broadcast. They finally gained their broadcast license in 1978, and had their official broadcast debut in December of 1979. 

This is actually after Radio Monash’s first broadcast in 1972!

The many location changes of PBS

Starting at the Prince of Wales Hotel Studio in St Kilda, they bounced around Melbourne for a while. From St Kilda, they moved to Fitzroy in 1984, then to Collingwood in 2001 where they stayed there for over 20 years until their grand move to Johnston Street Collingwood, where they remain today. When we visited, we got to pose in front of the old iconic PBS doors that are now on display in the main space. 

The current station is a world class example of a radio station. It has 4 studios with currently 3 in use, an artist waiting area, a live performance room with the best soundproofing I have ever experienced, and a stocked kitchen. They also had this really cool CD wall that was completely filled with their CD and Record collection. For PBS this had been a major update to their previous space, which had been falling apart for the last few years of their lease. 

Whilst this new studio had gone way over budget (a little like ours…), the space had been done to such a high standard that it really was worth the delays and extra financial support. 

The feeling me and Rohan had walking into the space was honestly one of wonder. We were like two kids walking into Disneyland for the first time. To see a community radio station have this much modern equipment in a brand new space was awe inspiring to see. 

Inside one of the 4 studios at their station on Johnston Street

The connections between community radio stations in Melbourne

One of the more interesting findings that came from our visit was how interconnected the community radio stations are. Melbourne is actually home to the most amount of community radio stations in the world, with 7 based in the CBD, and 450 community radio stations Australia wide. Community radio is so strong in Australia despite our smaller population size due to our legislation. 

A bit of community radio history

The 1970’s was an interesting time in Australian politics. During the Fraser government era, the Minister for Posts and Telecommunications; Tony Staley, was able to compile legislation to support community radio stations. So in 1978, the broadcasting and Television Amendment act of 1978 was introduced and signed by the then liberal government. After this legislation was passed, there was a massive explosion of community radio across Australia. This act ensured that there was a third section of media that all Australians had access to. The three forms of media are currently free to air television, free to air radio, and print. 

A key reason for the change in legislation was to allow longer broadcast licenses for ethnic radio stations. The success of community radio stations 2EA (Sydney), 3EA (Melbourne) and 3ZZ caused the government to realise the value in community programming, as these stations provided information, entertainment and education in multiple languages for their communities. These stations also inspired the special broadcast service to be born in 1978. 

Owen McKern (the PBS program manager) also told us an interesting story about the outrage caused by ABC reducing their classical music broadcasting. In the 1970’s, there was such an uproar in complaints made against the ABC, that the classic music lovers created their own independent radio stations. This outrage created the community stations known as 2MBS, and then 3MBS, which were some of the first non ethnic community radio stations to emerge. 

The complexities of the Australian Media Landscape 

With television, radio and print media all being a vital part of how information is spread throughout Australia, an eye opening aspect about this visit to PBS has been how important it is to have community voices. Australia is in a very unique position to have such a strong and vibrant community radio scene that caters to so many people. Aside from the stations in the CBD, the importance of regional and remote broadcasters can’t be understated. Whilst we do have publicly funded broadcasters like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), it’s the community radio stations that are at the heart of local communities.

These stations are not for profit organisations whose only goal is to provide quality, diverse content that the commercial stations are yet to offer. 

Reflections on what this means for Radio Monash

To meet like minded individuals that were as passionate about community radio as we are, had us so excited. Over the last few years, Radio Monash has gone through many changes. Due to covid, the station was left on a rocky foundation, and being the only university radio station completely run independently by students has left us in a unique position. This visit gave a lot of the committee the inspiration we needed to keep pushing for free student media, where opportunities for creative youth content are dwindling. Without these spaces, where else are tomorrow's future leaders and creative minds supposed to learn and hone their crafts? We want to be able to give students the opportunities to thrive while they are at Monash. We hope we can set the standard for quality student radio, music and journalism that benefits students in the present and future. For me personally, being in a community as strong as Radio Monash has been an experience I would never have gained elsewhere. To be surrounded by a diverse range of people who all bring different passions and interests has made Radmon an awesome place to be. So, this tour has meant so much to us as a small student radio station. It’s given us the inspiration and vision for what we can hopefully achieve. 

So in conclusion, our journey through PBS was not just a tour; but an inspiration. As we wandered through the studios, marveling at the blend of historic charm and cutting-edge technology, we felt a sense of connection to the larger world of community broadcasting. The visit underscored the vital role community radio plays in Melbourne, highlighting the unique ties among stations. For us, it's clear that working closely with PBS in the future will be an invaluable step for Radio Monash, helping us achieve our goals to become a pillar of high quality student radio, that brings value and engagement to our local community. This experience was a powerful reminder of the impact and importance of community-driven media, and we cannot thank program manager Owen McKern enough for showing us around the station. 

Reference list

A History of Community Broadcasting n.d.

Broadcasting and Television Amendment Act 1978 1978, www.legislation.gov.au, Australian Government, viewed 4 February 2024, <https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01851/asmade/text>.

Griffen-Foley, B 2015, From murky beginnings, Fraser became a friend of diverse media, The Conversation, viewed 4 February 2024, <https://theconversation.com/from-murky-beginnings-fraser-became-a-friend-of-diverse-media-39179>.

Malcolm Fraser: during office | naa.gov.au n.d., www.naa.gov.au.

National Museum of Australia 2009, ‘SBS established | National Museum of Australia’, Nma.gov.au.

Our History 2018, PBS FM.

‌Regulation Impact Statement Media ownership and local programming obligations 2016.