In our program today, we pick up the story of the Australian shortwave callsign VLR in Lyndhurst Victoria in September 1937. It was back at that stage that the original locally made 1928 shortwave transmitter was again renovated, and re-engineered from 600 watts up to 1 kW. During its 10 year experimental era, the transmitter callsign was listed as VK3LR, which was an amateur designation, though the station was always a professional operation, never amateur.
One year later (1938) on October 1, transmitter VLR was again upgraded, this time with an output power of 2 kW. At this stage, three shortwave channels were in use (6140 kHz, 9580 kHz and 11880 kHz), and three different antenna systems were available, thus ensuring wide coverage throughout Australia, and also coverage into many areas worldwide.
At the outbreak of war in continental Europe on September 2, 1939, the ABC shortwave station at Lyndhurst was the only shortwave broadcasting station that was permitted to remain on air. The programming feed for VLR was produced in the Melbourne studios of the (ABC) Australian Broadcasting Commission stations 3LO and 3AR, and fro there it was landlined to Lyndhurst, some 25 miles southeast of downtown Melbourne. At this stage, the ABC announced that a new 10 kW shortwave transmitter was planned as a replacement for the now eleven year old ailing transmitter.
Due to the exigencies of the European war, rapid plans were implemented in Australia for the introduction of a government operated international shortwave voice; and three months later, on December 20 (1939), the new Australia Calling was inaugurated. December 20 was the birthday of Australia’s Prime Minister (Sir) Robert Menzies.
Four shortwave transmitters were available for Australia’s new shortwave voice, and these were designated as VLQ and VLQ2 at Pennant Hills near Sydney in New South Wales, VLW near Perth in Western Australia, and the already mentioned VLR near Melbourne in Victoria. Special international programming for the new Australia Calling was produced in the Melbourne and Sydney studios of the ABC.
Eighteen months later, on June 21, 1941, the promised new 10 kW shortwave transmitter was activated in the Lyndhurst transmitter station, though now it was not a replacement for the old VLR, but rather it was an addition to the old VLR. Initially this new STC transmitter was designated on air under the same VLR callsign, as VLR3 (11880 kHz) and VLR4 (15230 kHz).
At this stage, there was confusion as to which of the two transmitters was in use, so two months later on August 24, (1941) the new 10 kW VLR was redesignated as VLG; and thus VLR3 on 11880 kHz became VLG5, and VLR4 on 15230 kHz became VLG6. From this time onwards, VLG was on the air with programming for both Australia Calling and the ABC National Service, though the original VLR was in use only for ABC National Service coverage in Australia itself. Never again was VLR taken into service for Australia Calling, nor for Radio Australia as the international service was known subsequently.
For a few years after the end of World War 2, the VLR transmitter was operating at a power level of 5 kW. However unfortunately, this old VLR was always noted on air with a raspy signal, and sometimes a loud booming hum, and never with a good clean and easy to listen audio.
During the 1950s, a new building was erected over and around the old transmitter building, and the old building was then removed piece by piece. In this way, the now three transmitters (VLH was added in 1946) were still in regular usage, and no damage was done to any of the electronic equipment. At this stage, there was a change in the numeric designators, with the number now indicating the MHz band. For example, VLR2 on 6150 kHz therefore became VLR6.
Now that there was more space in the transmitter building, three additional 10 kW shortwave transmitters were installed in 1956. These American made RCA transmitters were redundant equipment originally planned for installation in American battleships and with the end of World War 2 they were no longer needed.
At this stage, the old original VLR transmitter was removed. In addition, the callsign VLR was no longer the identification of a specific transmitter, but rather it now became the designation of the ABC shortwave service for coverage in the Great Outback, which was on air from any of the available transmitters.
Then beginning in the 1960's, a total of eight STC made 10 kW transmitters were installed progressively at the Lyndhurst shortwave station. Give another score of years, and the VLR shortwave service was declared redundant, and thus it was closed at 1402 UTC on Friday morning June 12, 1987. The final transmission from ABC VLR came to an end, as VLR6 with 10 kW on 6150 kHz just after midnight local time.
In summary, VLR was an experimental and broadcast transmitter at Lyndhurst that was on the air for 29 years stretching from 1928 to 1956. This transmitter also carried a program relay for Australia Calling for a couple of years from 1939 to 1941. From 1956 until closure in 1987, VLR was an ABC program service that was on the air from any of the multiple shortwave transmitters that were available in the Lyndhurst shortwave station.
(AWR-Wavescan/NWS 575-01 Mar 2020)