Yes QFM went to air 25 Feb 1990 a day before B105
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An aircheck from 3GG Warragul in November 1989, less than a week after it changed over from 3UL.
Credit: ‘The Radio Vault’
This would be what a sole commercial station in a regional market would sound like back in the day. That said, it would’ve had a bit of competition with 3TR (now Gold 1242) in the Latrobe Valley.
The station was later bought by RG Capital in 2000 (in which it launched its S39 station, Sea FM in 2002, later rebranded to Star FM in 2005, now Hit 94.3) before it & DMG Regional Radio was bought by Macquarie Bank to form the Macquarie Regional Radioworks (MRR) in 2004.
3GG was then sold to Resonate in 2007 (MRR, later SCA, kept Star FM/Hit), and then to Capital Radio Network in 2015, in which it’s now a “Forever Classic” station.
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Excellent audio, thanks for sharing. And didn’t it sound glorious in stereo!
While I never experienced it in stereo in the day, 3GG certainly served a valuable market in that area. From my memory it skewed a little older when compared to its more modern-sounding neighbour in 3TR, but in many parts of west Gippsland it was the only music station that offered reliable reception - Melbourne FMs dropped out not too far past Pakenham and 3TR didn’t really become strong until you’d got through Moe. I spent many a day on a car/train trip to Gippsland listening to them (largely in lieu of a better option I must admit), especially before Sea FM launched in the 2000s
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Yes, Warragul with the positioning of neighbouring FM TXs meant that they could employ a null to limit the signals meant that it was afforded limited choice really… 3UL/3GG and perhaps not much else.
Melbourne AM stations might have been okay there, particularly 3MP being on the east side of Melbourne at Rowville.
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Yep, I am talking from childhood recollection using nothing but my trusty old walkman, but that was the case back then. Come to think of it though, other than the addition of Sea FM, it probably hasn’t changed much, as TR FM is even weaker to the west than the old AM signal was
And yeah you could be right, but as a kid I certainly wasn’t listening to daggy old 3MP 
I do however recall having good 3LO reception right into Gippsland to listen to the cricket in summer
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I wonder if some in those parts resorted to listening to 7BU and 7AD from across the puddle?
South Gippsland in particular is an iffy spot for FM reception- that’s why 3MFM does so well there with its local focus. But who needs radio when you’ve got a fabulous climate?
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Another gem from ‘The Radio Vault’.
This is when 4GG on the Gold Coast converted to FM as 4GGG on 20th March 1989, at around the exact same time when rival station 90.9 Sea FM (now hit90.9) launched. It was the first commercial radio station in Australia to convert from AM to FM, in which its first song on FM was none other than “FM (No Static At All)” by Steely Dan, the very same song that launched 96fm in Perth nearly 9 years earlier. Both 4GGG & Sea FM were also the first commercial FM stations in Australia to go to air in a non-capital city market.
4GGG later became KROQ before it was bought by Sea FM (later RG Capital, then MRR, now SCA) in late 1992, in which it was relaunched as Gold 92.5 with an oldies format, and was later evolved into an AC format. On 8th November 2019, it was rebranded as 92.5 Triple M.
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Only you would call that miserable, wind-blown part of the world a fabulous climate 
Yeah down further south the options are limited, although in the western parts 3GG/Hit at least provide something (the latter more recently). Far East Gippsland is another one - I’d hazard a guess that BU/AD would have been some of the few signals you’d receive in those parts
Thank you again for sharing these gems. Interesting that 4GGG was using Triple M’s “Triple Your Music” branding - were they under shared ownership at the time?
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It’s my pleasure. 
It’s possible. See article below.
Radio Station 4GG’s thrilling ride to success (Gold Coast Bulletin - January 5, 2014)
However, other sources (such as this one) said that it was owned by Grant Broadcasters. Perhaps Hoyts sold KROQ to Grant at around the same time that it sold K-Rock in Geelong, at least before it was bought by Sea FM.
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Same news intro theme as 3SR (3GG, 3SR and 3YB under same ownership by ABS I think it was at the time).
And top of the hour “Network Radio News” was from 3MP.
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I’d rather Victoria’s wind and rain than the incessant sunshine and bushfires in coastal NSW/SE QLD at the moment. I reckon at least @TV-Expert will agree with me 
. And when the fires relent, the 20C+ dewpoints will return…
Great airchecks from the Radio Vault once again; the laid back but professional commercial sound in the 80s is what all DJs should aspire to I reckon. The closest you’ll come to that now is on community radio and stations like Radio Caroline in the UK.
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I remember being able to tune into 3TR from Hobart in the evening, so it would have been possible
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Was listening to Bay FM earlier and they had an for its upcoming 30th anniversary, mentioning its on-air launch date as 8 December 1989. Wikipedia (FWIW) mentions both 8 and 10 December 1989 as launch dates so there’s been some confusion along the way.
But the 8th date makes sense as I seem to recall the first I knew about Bay FM was reading about it in the Saturday (9th) papers and tuning in to having a first listen to it then.
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Another one from ‘The Radio Vault’: a brief grab of 2GF Grafton in 1989, as received at Napier NZ.
This might bring back memories for @NRN11.
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After all these years I was hoping someone had that 2GF jingle. So glad someone else has. Thank you for sharing.
If anyone else has the early 90’s “1206 2GF” jingle on its own I’d be forever grateful.
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Here’s an interesting e-book about Australian radio history, which you can read here, for free: http://austamradiohistory.com/
A background about the author who wrote it: https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/bruce-carty’s-australian-radio-history-now-available-free-online
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Another gem from the Simon Owens Radio Archive: Peter Hitchener reading the 6.00am news on 3AW (or “AW-AM”) in September 1978
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Some 4KQ Brisbane photos I found at the National Archives of Australia.
Will Riner, an American veteran, doing the drive shift on 4KQ in 1967. (Source - NAA: A12111, 1/1967/16/97)
The 4KQ mobile broadcast studio, 30 September 1969. (Source - NAA: J2364, 4430)
A 4KQ talent quest in 1962. (Source - NAA: A1501, A2833/1; A2837/1)
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Vale Allen Brandt:
The driving force of 4IP and the Color Radio Network.
Funeral: Friday 6 December, 11am, St Clement’s on the Hill Anglican Church, Eudunda Street, Stafford
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