It’s a great facility. Always has been.
Some of those last pics are from 2001 as you can see the introduction to digital television and Big Brother promotion.
2 Likes
Great photos.
If you squint your eyes, you can just make out a 2SM 1269 logo with the “Variety Club Special Children’s Christmas Party” award/certificate on the wall in Image #4! Clearer (albeit B&W) example of a certificate can be seen in this ad!
I think at some point Variety and the Special Children’s Christmas Party people may have gone their separate ways, at least as far as the events held in Sydney are concerned. But that discussion is to be had in another topic.
Haven’t got the exact date on hand at the moment, but I thought the first broadcasts from Pyrmont happened in/around mid-April 1997. Certainly it seems they had moved by the end of that month anyway:
I reckon that last pic was from 2001 while the others are from around the Late 1990s.
6 Likes
I think the last picture might just be some event possibly in the Sydney show or something, not in the actual HQ.
3 Likes
It would be great if we had footage of this… along with the first bulletin presented from there. If only media spy was around in the late 90s.
5 Likes
7 Likes
Sarcasm incoming
And who would want a TV Studio in Cairns??? Not like they’ve done it before???
Also, does the FNQ Studio still stand???
1 Like
The old FNQ Studio from agregation is a car dealership now apparently - back in the days of black and white Cairns had its own stand alone TV station (FNQ 10) and I believe it transmitted from Saddle Mountain before the Mt Bellenden-Kerr site was built - Black and white FNQ 10 went broke and the station was then run from Townsville. Obviously no government $$ around then to get one out of strife!
6 Likes
I was aware of FNQ as a station, just poking a bit of fun at this topic is all.
1 Like
From what I understand, FNQ transmitted from a tower next to the Aumuller Street studios that was run by the PMG until Bellnden-Ker was commissioned.
4 Likes
That may explain why FNQ went broke as coverage from a tower on the flats would not have been very good. I first went to Cairns in 1979 and was shocked to see the ABC evening news from Townsville being broadcast in black and white and that was 5 years after colour TV came in - people notice that kind of stuff.
5 Likes
from this press release: Structural steel is also being installed for the resort’s future ballroom, which will be housed on level 6 of the Podium. Once complete, it will host amazing events capable of catering for up to 2,000 people at a time. In anticipation of some of the red-carpet events likely to occur, broadcast network cabling will be installed through to the loading dock to support the broadcast needs of television networks.
3 Likes
5 Likes
10 Likes
Curiously, this didn’t seem to rate a mention on Nine News Sydney tonight.
Even though…you know, the Willoughby tower used to be the primary source for reception of TCN Channel Nine Sydney!
4 Likes
Tight shots only please.
5 Likes
Was just about to post this, nothing gets past you 
5 Likes
Saw this too. Also noticed there was two 10 mics. One for 10 News and one for 10 Sport.
I suspect 10 Sport used theirs to take the interview live as part of the coverage. Whereas 10 News was just there news gathering with a seperate crew.
4 Likes
