ABC Radio Melbourne (official

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...

: 3LO) is an

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

station in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924 and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after 3AR. The other ABC Local Radio stations in Victoria simulcast ABC Radio Melbourne's programming when not airing local shows for their area.

History

The station was initially owned by the Broadcasting Company of Australia, owned by J. & N. Tait (theatrical entrepreneurs), Buckley & Nunn (a department store) and

the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd ''The Herald and Weekly Times'' Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987. Newspapers The HWT's newspaper interests dat ...

(a newspaper company). It was named after 2LO in England, where the ''LO'' probably stood for London. However, many radio historians believe the following alternative reason for the name: the first landline between the studio and transmitter did not work properly and, therefore, a second line was put into use, and someone with a sense of humour named the station 2LO, standing for ''Second Line Out''. The station began transmission with an outside broadcast of a performance of ''La Bohème'' featuring Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

from His Majesty's Theatre. The station initially operated on longwave on 174 kHz (1720 metres) using 5,000 watts from a site in what is today

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

(and was then considered Braybrook). In July 1925, it moved to the mediumwave 810 kHz. From 1927 to 1939, the shortwave service "Voice of Australia" broadcast 3LO material to the world. From 1928 the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

(PMG) was responsible for the technical side of all Australian A Class stations including 3LO. Also in 1928, the

Australian Broadcasting Company The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a short-lived Australian commercial broadcasting company set up by Sir Benjamin Fuller and Frank Albert. Founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £A 100,000 by a consortium of enter ...

was given a licence to provide all programming on 3LO. The Australian Broadcasting Company was nationalised and became the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

in 1932. In 1938, transmission moved from Maidstone to Delahey (on a site then considered St Albans), where it remains today. The two Melbourne stations (3LO and 3AR) had a studio in Melbourne Place, a laneway off Russell Street near Little Collins Street, until the building of Broadcast House in

Lonsdale Street Lonsdale Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and was laid out in 1837 as one of Melbourne's original boundaries within the Hoddle Grid. The street ext ...

in 1945. The 3LO on-air studio at Broadcast House was studio 308, although for many years the news broadcasts came from Marland House in Bourke Street. The studios were transferred to the ABC's new Southbank Centre in 1995. In its early days the station was involved in programs, such as ''Kindergarten of the Air'', giving children in regional areas greater social awareness and preparation for school. In early 2006, with the start of the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in Melbourne, the ABC set up what was known as "The G-Spot" at

Federation Square Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...

– an outside broadcast studio where members of the public could watch and participate in the broadcast. At the same time, ABC Radio Melbourne became the second Local Radio station to introduce streaming broadcasts in addition to its regular radio broadcast, subject to sporting rights and legal concerns.

Present

ABC Radio Melbourne provides a mix of local and national news, talkback, current affairs and sports programming. During part of the day it is also identified as "ABC Radio Melbourne and ABC Victoria", as much of its content is also heard on other stations in the

network in Victoria. It is also available through online streaming. ABC Radio Melbourne's 774 kHz

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located in Delahey, 20 km north-west of Melbourne's central business district. The station broadcasts at a power of 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, covering the majority of Victoria, and one of two transmitters using the callsign 3LO, the other being at Marengo on 89.5 MHz with an EIRP of about 327 watts serving the Apollo Bay area. ABC Radio Melbourne sometimes broadcasts live from events such as the Gardening Australia Expo, the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

, the C31 Melbourne Antenna Awards, the

Royal Melbourne Show The Melbourne Royal Show (known until 2022 as the Royal Melbourne Show) is an agricultural show held at Melbourne Showgrounds every September. It is organised by Melbourne Royal (formally the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria) and has bee ...

and the Royal Geelong Show. The station is housed in the ABC Southbank Centre, which has four levels incorporating ABC Local Radio, ABC Radio National,

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

, ABC Dig Music,

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

, Australia Network,

ABC News and Current Affairs ABC News, also known as ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service covers both local and world affairs, broadcasting both nationally as ABC News, and across the Asia- ...

and ABC TV. ABC Radio Melbourne is an official Emergency Services Broadcaster, a role it notably filled during the

Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria. Saturday, 7 February 2009 was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred ...

and recovery in 2009.

Programs

Daily scheduling

* ''Breakfast'', with Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy – 5:30 am to 8:00 am * '' AM'' (national), with Sabra Lane – 8:00 am to 8:30 am * ''Mornings'', with Rafael Epstein – 8:30 am to 11:00 am * '' The Conversation Hour'', with Richelle Hunt – 11:00 am to 12:00 pm * ''The World Today'' (national), with various presenters – 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm * ''Afternoons'', with Brigitte Duclos (Monday to Thursday), Jacinta Parsons and Brian Nankervis (Friday) – 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm * ''Drive'', with Ali Moore – 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm * '' PM'' (national), with Samantha Donovan – 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm * ''ABC Sport Daily'' (national), with Patrick Stack – 6:30 pm to 6:45 pm * ''Evenings'', with

David Astle David Robert Astle (born 9 November 1961) is an Australian TV personality and radio host, and writer of non-fiction, fiction and plays. He also co-hosted the SBS Television (SBS) show ''Letters and Numbers'', as the dictionary expert, in company ...

(Monday to Thursday), Sirine Demachkie (Friday, national),

Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of Torres Strait Islander origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been no ...

(Saturday, national) and Mark Humphries (Sunday, national) – 6:45 pm to 10:00 pm * ''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

'' (national), with Philip Clark (Monday to Thursday) and Suzanne Hill (Friday to Sunday) – 10:00 pm to 2:00 am * '' Overnights'' (national), with

Trevor Chappell Trevor Martin Chappell (born 12 October 1952) is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket. He played 3 tests and 20 One Day Internationals for Australia. He won the Sheffield Shi ...

(Monday to Thursday from Melbourne) and Rod Quinn (Friday to Sunday from Sydney) – 2:00 am to 5.30 am (Sunday to Friday, 2.00 am to 6.00 am on Saturday)

Other programs

* ''The Friday Revue'', with Jacinta Parsons and Brian Nankervis - Friday 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm * ''Thank God it's Friday!'', with

Charlie Pickering Charlie Pickering (born 29 August 1977) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, author and producer. Pickering currently hosts ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'', a weekly news satire television show on the ABC (Australia ...

- Friday 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm * ''Saturday Breakfast'', with

Brian Nankervis Brian Nankervis is an Australian writer, actor, radio host, television producer and comedian. He is one of the co-creators of the music quiz show, ''RocKwiz'' and co-hosts ''The Friday Revue'' with Jacinta Parsons on ABC Radio Melbourne. Early l ...

- Saturday 6:00 am to 8:00 am * ''Saturday Mornings'', with Jacinta Parsons - Saturday 8:30 am to 12:00 pm * ''Sundays'', with Lisa Leong - Sunday 10:00 am to 12:00 pm * ''Australia All Over'' (national), with Ian McNamara - Sunday 5.30 am to 10.00 am * ''Grandstand'' is the ABC's sport program, which is broadcast from 12:00 pm on a Saturday and Sunday * Weekend DAB programs: ''Editor's choice'', ''Live and Local'', ''Babytalk'', ''Weekends'', ''Saturday Afternoon'', ''The Best of the Story Stream'', ''Countrywide'', ''A Big Country'' and ''Sunday Afternoon'' which are broadcast on DAB+ digital radio from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Saturday and 12:00 pm to 6:30 pm on Sunday * ''Speaking Out'' (Radio National), with Larissa Behrendt

Former presenters

* Mary Adams * Doug Aiton * Elizabeth Bond * Clare Bowditch *

Alan Brough Alan Brough (; born 1967) is a New Zealand actor, television and radio host and comedian based in Australia. Career Early life Brough worked as an actor in Wellington and Auckland, mainly in live theatre. He also appeared in a series of butter c ...

* Lindy Burns * Peter Clarke * Peter Evans *

Jon Faine Jonathan Eric Faine (born 21 September 1956) is an Australian former radio presenter who hosted the morning program on ABC Radio Melbourne in Melbourne. Faine is recognised as a prominent and influential member of the Australian Jewish communi ...

Libbi Gorr Lisbeth Joanne "Libbi" Gorr (born 24 March 1965) is an Australian broadcaster working in both TV and radio. Gorr is also an author, voice artist, writer and performer. She first came to prominence with the satirical television character that sh ...

* Derek Guille * Lynne Haultain * Gael Jennings * Ramona Koval * Terry Laidler * Terry Lane * Helen Razer * Tonya Roberts * Michael Schildberger * Mark Skurnik * Alan Stokes *

Richard Stubbs Richard Stubbs (born 4 November 1957) is an Australian radio and television presenter, writer and comedian. Career Stubbs was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, where he was school captain. He then completed a Bachelor of Economics degree ...

Red Symons Redmond Symons (born 13 June 1949) is an Australian musician and television and radio personality. He was the lead guitarist in the band Skyhooks, the snide judge of 'Red Faces' (a segment of the long-running variety show '' Hey Hey It's Satur ...

Virginia Trioli Virginia Frances Trioli (born 16 August 1965) is an Australian journalist, author, radio and television presenter. Career Born in Bendigo, Trioli attended Donvale High School and graduated from La Trobe University in the 1980s with a Bachelo ...

* Kevin Arnett * Sammy J *

Matt Preston Matt Preston (born 21 July 1961) is an English-Australian food critic, writer, food journalist, television and radio presenter. Preston has a weekly national food column that appears in NewsCorp's metro newspapers. He is also a senior editor ...

References

External links

Official website

ACMA 3LO Assignment

Peter Evans broadcasts from the 1970s {{DEFAULTSORT:ABC Radio Melbourne

Radio stations established in 1924 Radio stations in Melbourne