98.9 FM (callsign 4AAA), also known as Triple A Murri Country (or just Murri Country), is an Australian

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station that caters to the Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

communities in metropolitan

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Background

Murri Country was born in a time of the Aboriginal protest movement in the 1980s and 1990s. ''Murri Hour'' aired on another Brisbane radio station,

4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...

, from 1984 to 1993, initiated by Gungalu and

Birri Gubba The Birri Gubba people, formerly known as Biria, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Language The Birri Gubba people spoke a number of languages in the Biri language group. Country The Biria held sway over some , ...

coordinator of the Black Protest Committee, Ross Watson. Starting as a daily pre-recorded 20-minute segment, by the end of the second year, it ran for 16 hours a week. Watson was also the founder and editor of the ''Black Nation'' newspaper. In 1988 the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association (BIMA) was founded on the initiative of Watson, to cover radio, publishing, and filmmaking. Also in 1988, BIMA was granted a community radio licence to expand Murri Radio, but plans stalled after competing community groups appealed. The

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting thei ...

(ATSIC) granted funding to BIMA to defend its licence after BIMA representatives had driven to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to address ATSIC's inaugural board meeting. In 1991 the

Australian Broadcasting Tribunal The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Government of Australia, Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Communications and the Arts, Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 wit ...

issued the broadcast licence to 4AAA Murri Country, and BIMA made its first broadcast on 98.9FM as 4AAA Murri Country on Tuesday, 6 April, 1993. Along with other prominent community members and the founding staff, the opening was attended and opened by Senator

Neville Bonner Neville Thomas Bonner AO (28 March 19225 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy ...

. The studios were located at

Rocklea Rocklea is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,672 people. Low-lying parts of the suburb are flood prone. Geography Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The ...

for 18 years, before moving to a new building at West End in April 2011.

Description

98.9 FM, also known as Triple A Murri Country or just Murri Country, is an Australian

station that caters to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Brisbane. Focusing on

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

and other

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodeling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, the Australian bush balla ...

, the station's programs include ''Breakfast Show'', with Jharal Yow Yeh & Tariana Olive; and ''Drive Show'', with Clay Cassar-Daley & Emma MacNeill. It broadcasts to the Brisbane RA1 area.Brisbane RA1
/ref> The facilities at the West End studios include three digital and one analogue studio, state-of-the art recording studio and booth, three-camera television studio and control room, a training centre, and more. 98.9 FM is part of the

National Indigenous Radio Service The National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) is a satellite program feed available in Australia to Indigenous and non-Indigenous community radio stations. NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia's Aboriginal and ...

, a satellite network of over 120 community radio stations, with which it is co-located.

Exhibition

In 2019,the

State Library Of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

held an exhibition titled ''I Heard it on the Radio: 25 years of 98.9fm Murri Country''.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Brisbane FM Radio stations in Brisbane Community radio stations in Australia Radio stations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Australia