3WM is a radio station based in
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...
in the
Wimmera
The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...
Mallee region of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia. It broadcasts on the AM band, at a frequency of 1089 kHz, and on the FM band around Ararat at a frequency of 96.1 MHz.
The station is part of the
Ace Radio
Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales, as well as the digital marketing agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free ...
network.
History
The station opened on 11 September 1933 as 3HS Horsham.
[Walker, R.R., ''The Magic Spark: 50 Years of Radio in Australia'', 1973, The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne][ Griffen-Foley, Bridget, ''Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio'', UNSW Press, 2009, Sydney] On 16 May 1936 the station was taken over by
3DB a subsidiary of
The Herald and Weekly Times
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 date b ...
, Melbourne. Then, on 24 December 1936, the call sign was changed to 3LK and, at this time, the Horsham studios and transmitter were closed with the transmitter being relocated to the small village of Lubeck,
hence the 3LK call sign. (Lubeck currently has a population of about 140, but it would have been bigger when a few 3LK technicians lived there with their families and, importantly, when Lubeck was a railway junction for the branch line to
Rupanyup
Rupanyup ( ) is a small town in rural Victoria, Australia. As of the , it had a population of 536. The name Rupanyup is an Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal word meaning 'branch hanging over water'.Wimmera
The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...
/
Mallee events and charities.
The slogan used for all 3DB/3LK programming during most of this era was: ''3DB Melbourne, 3LK Central Victoria, the Herald-Sun stations'', but towards the end of the DB/LK partnership this was modified to the more logical: ''3DB Melbourne, 3LK Wimmera Mallee, the Herald-Sun stations''.
The Herald and Weekly Times sold 3LK on 1 February 1972 and its studios and transmitter were again moved to Horsham. In 1977 there was yet another name change when 3LK Horsham became 3WM Wimmera Mallee, broadcasting from Horsham.
In July 2022 the station began broadcasting on 96.1 MHz on the FM band in the Ararat district.
Current Programming
Currently, 3WM takes much of its programming from 3AW Melbourne.
3WM's sister station, also a member of the
Ace Radio
Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales, as well as the digital marketing agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free ...
network, is Mixx FM Wimmera Mallee. Mixx FM broadcasts on three different channels from transmitters placed in geographically diverse parts of the Wimmera Mallee: 101.3 MHz from Horsham, 94.5 MHz from Lawloit (near Nhill) and 98.5 MHz from Ararat.
See also
*
3DB (Melbourne)
3DB was a Melbourne-based radio station that opened in 1927, changed its name to 3TT in 1988, and now operates on the FM band as KIIS 101.1.
3DB was one of Melbourne's most popular radio stations, topping the ratings for many decades.Jones, ...
References
External links
*
{{Coord, -36.7248, 142.2043, type:landmark_region:AU-VIC, display=title
Radio stations in Victoria
Classic hits radio stations in Australia
Ace Radio