How an early offshore radio station ended up in Hawaii in 1931
Jeff: This week’s feature story was written and researched by Jan van Heeren in The Netherlands, and was forwarded by Dr. Martin van der Ven in Germany to our editor-in-chief, Dr. Adrian Peterson. We thank each of those for bringing this story to our attention. If you have an interest in the history of radio, and more specifically the history of offshore radio in particular, it’s always welcome when something new emerges from the distant past. This certainly applies to the broadcasts made in 1931 from the ocean steamer SS Malolo. Here’s Ray Robinson in Los Angeles to tell us more.
Ray: Thanks, Jeff. As far back as the 1930’s, several examples are known of radio broadcasts made from ships, including the SS City of Panama off the coast of Southern California with medium wave station RXKR from May till August 1933, and the MV Kanimbla which broadcast on shortwave from International Waters off the Australian coast from 1936-1939.
Well, we can now add to the list the SS Malolo - a name that appeared in old radio magazines of 1931, such as ‘Broadcast Weekly’ and ‘Radio Doings’.
The story starts in 1926, when the ocean steamer/ cruise ship SS Malolo was launched in Philadelphia. It was a very luxurious ship that sailed the routes between San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu, and long before commercial air flights were available, it contributed to the popularity of Hawaii as a tourist destination.
Soon after entering service, in 1927, the ship collided with a cargo ship, causing damage similar to that of the Titanic fifteen years earlier. But due to a well-functioning compartment system, the ship was able safely to enter port under its own power, albeit with 6,000 tons of seawater on board.
It was not only the Malolo that saw the light of day in 1926. The radio program "Ship of Joy" also started in that year at radio station KPO, San Francisco, daily between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, with the exception of Sunday. This show was, apart from on KPO, also heard on a large number of other stations in syndicated form on the West Coast of America. "Ship of Joy" was an imitation of an already existing popular program: "Maxwell House Show Boat". The new program was presented by Hugh Barrett Dobbs. He already had radio experience, especially as a presenter of a morning gymnastics program. Those gymnastics shows, sponsored by Quaker Oats, were very popular.
"Ship of Joy" also became a sponsored program. Initially the company Del Monte was a sponsor, after that it became Shell, which changed the name to "Shell Ship of Joy". The program was broadcast via the NBC Pacific Coast network.
The popularity of the program was shown by the salary Dobbs received. It was said to be more than President Hoover's. (In the period from 1929 to 1932, he collected almost a quarter of a million US Dollars through Shell.)
Another indication of his popularity was that Dobbs received almost two million letters from listeners in six years. The listeners of "Ship of Joy" were called "shipmates" or "happytimers" and Dobbs himself became Captain Dobbsie.
By ship to Hawaii
The two events of 1926, the launching of the SS Malolo and the start of the radio program "Ship of Joy", would come together a few years later. At the beginning
of 1930 a top man of Shell, E.H. Sanders, thought it would be nice to have the program "Ship of Joy" actually broadcast from a ship for once. It took almost a year and a half before everything was complete in terms of technology, permits and finances. But finally, on Saturday July 11, 1931, the SS Malolo left the port of San Francisco through the Golden Gate in the direction of Honolulu, Hawaii.
During this voyage Captain Dobbsie would take care of his morning program "Shell Ship of Joy" every day from the ship. As it left harbor, the ship was waved off by thousands of listeners. On board were among others Captain Dobbsie, two radio technicians, twenty artists and a large number of fans of the program.
A temporary radio studio was set up on the ship. A 200 Watt shortwave transmitter had been installed, and it was assigned the call letters WIOXAI. It was authorized to broadcast on 6020 and 9670 kHz, having already been tested during an earlier voyage.
The transmissions were then relayed over the entire NBC Pacific Coast network. At the time, the press reported that it was the first time in the history of radio that a seafaring radio station had provided regular broadcasts during a voyage across the Pacific Ocean, with these broadcasts being distributed via a network of
radio stations.
On Thursday, July 16th 1931, the ship arrived in Hawaii. There the mayor welcomed Captain Dobbsie and ceremoniously handed him the key to the City of Honolulu. From Hawaii the broadcasts continued, but not, as one would have liked, from the Malolo, but simply from land. But yet again, this was not so commonplace, because these were the first broadcasts from Hawaii
aimed at the American mainland. On Friday 17th, not only the morning program "Shell Ship of Joy" was broadcast there, but there was also a special evening broadcast with local artists. On Saturday 18th, the return journey was commenced, with the ship again being waved off by thousands. On the way back the program "Ship of Joy" was again broadcast daily.
How did the story end?
The Malolo was thoroughly rebuilt in 1937. During the Second World War she was requisitioned and later returned to the shipping company. In 1948 the last trip to Hawaii was made with the ship which then came into Italian hands.
In 1977, in a Greek shipbreaking yard, the demolition started of the Queen Fredrica, a name that it bore since 1954, after the then queen of Greece.
Surprisingly, all the companies that sponsored the programs of Dobbs nearly 100 years ago still exist today, which is quite remarkable: Quaker, Del Monte and Shell.
After the broadcasts via the NBC Pacific Coast network, Shell "Ship of Joy" was broadcast for a period by the Columbia West Coast network and then by KOMO Seattle. At the end of each broadcast of "Ship of Joy" Captain Dobbsie asked the listeners to put their hand on their heart and made the following request: "Send
out a wish to somebody - somewhere - who may be in sickness or trouble. Everybody - WISH!" Dobbs was concerned about the health of others but didn't know his own health was bad. It was in 1944 that perhaps the wealthiest radio presenter in the world suddenly died. Sadly, Captain Dobbsie was only fifty years old at the time.
Back to you, Jeff.
(AWR/Wavescan)