Radio Happy Isles is a national
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
station in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
, operated by the
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) is the official radio broadcaster of Solomon Islands. SIBC is self-defined as a public service broadcaster.[Honiara
Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...](_blank)
.
Its stated purpose is not only to broadcast news but also to "promote a sense of national unity and Reconciliation", in the aftermath of
violent civil conflict, "uphold the cultural values of Solomon Islands and create programs that meet the educational and informational needs of the listener".
In 2001, its weekday programme began at 6 AM with a broadcasting of
the national anthem, followed by a ten-minute "morning devotion". Daily programmes included music, sports, and weather reports, as well as national and international news. International news was provided mainly through the rebroadcasting of programmes from the
British Broadcasting Corporation
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...
,
Radio New Zealand International
RNZ Pacific or Radio New Zealand Pacific, sometimes abbreviated to RNZP, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports programme ...
and the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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 ...
's
Radio Australia. Some programmes were broadcasting in
English, and others in
Pijin
Pijin (Solomon Islands Pidgin) is a language spoken in Solomon Islands. It is closely related to Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea and Bislama of Vanuatu; the three varieties are sometimes considered to be dialects of a single Melanesian Pidgin l ...
. Specific programmes were broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays, including programmes with a religious focus on Sundays.
The name "Happy Isles" for Solomon Islands is based on a line in Tennyson's poem "Ulysses": "It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles". It was used as the title of a book about Solomon Islands by D.C. Horton (1966). The station's name was suggested by VSA volunteer training officer Hugh Young on his departure in 1976, but not adopted until a year or two later, by Station Manager Welshman Teilo. As a result, the "Happy Isles" was then widely adopted as a nickname for the whole country. It was used as the title of a 1999 book by Robert Seward, ''Radio Happy Isles: Media and Politics at Play in the Pacific''.
[SEWARD, Robert, ''Radio Happy Isles: Media and Politics at Play in the Pacific'', University of Hawaii Press, 1999, , pp. 234]
References
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Radio stations in the Solomon Islands