Council lease support locked in for community radio trailblazers

The first North Queensland community radio station to broadcast on the FM band will continue serving the public from its 40-year headquarters, after Townsville City councillors this week voted to extend the group’s $1-per-annum peppercorn lease for another five years.

Townsville Community Broadcasting Limited, better known as Triple T (103.9FM), has called the Council-owned School of the Arts building on Stanley Street home for more than four decades, growing the channel from a humble grassroots start-up in 1982 to a locally embedded media institution.

Today, Triple T remains an independent and not-for-profit organisation, with 373 active members, 69 volunteer broadcasters and fundraising, donations, grants and sponsorships keeping it humming.

Division 10 Councillor Brady Ellis, a former radio announcer himself, said the story of Triple T was woven into the fabric of Townsville’s media history.

Cr Ellis said the station, which has grand plans over the next five years to expand radio training opportunities, support emerging broadcasters, grow local content and increase its digital presence, had strong support in the Council chambers this week.

“Triple T has a long and impressive history here in Townsville, being the first community radio station established in North Queensland and Townsville’s first station on the FM band,” he said.

“Councillors were only too happy to offer this peppercorn lease extension as a way to show our support to Triple T and its volunteers, and to give thanks for the work they do and the service they offer not just to our city, but also the broader region including Townsville, Magnetic Island, Palm Island, Charters Towers, Hinchinbrook, Cardwell and the lower Burdekin.”

Townsville Mayor Nick Dametto said the value of Triple T to the North Queensland region extended far beyond its airwave presence.

“Not only does Triple T have an impressive history, but it also continues to shape Townsville’s current and future media landscape by promoting local media and storytelling,” Cr Dametto said.

“I am also very impressed by their ongoing commitment to growing the radio talent of the future, providing hands-on training through its community radio school which supports new broadcasters ranging from young students all the way up to retirees.”

Triple T Board Chair Erin Menkens said she was incredibly proud of the station’s legacy as “people-powered radio”.

“Community radio has always been about real people: our community, our voices,” she said.

“For more than 40 years our volunteers have helped share the stories, music and cultures that make our Townsville region unique.

“Our focus for the future is continuing to grow that platform so the community can hear itself reflected on the airwaves.”

Triple T history

In the mid-1970s, radio listeners in Townsville had limited choice, with just three stations broadcasting on the AM band: 4AY, 4TO and 4NQ.

After returning from Brisbane, a James Cook University law lecturer noticed the wider variety of music available on the airwaves there.

Over conversations in the JCU staff lunchroom, the idea was born to bring greater diversity to Townsville radio.

In 1978, that idea became reality with the formation of the Townsville FM Broadcasting Society.

After years of lobbying the Federal Government for a broadcasting licence, the society famously sent coconuts to Canberra with the message “Fair go for public broadcasting” written on them.

The campaign helped put Townsville’s bid firmly on the national radar. In 1981 the licence was granted and in 1982 Triple T (4TTT) officially hit the airwaves.

Triple T became the first community radio station north of Toowoomba in Queensland, the first in North Queensland and with FM broadcasting still new at the time, it was also Townsville’s first station on the FM band.

More than four decades later, Triple T Community Radio remains a proudly independent, non-profit and volunteer-driven organisation.

The station operates with the support of more than 69 volunteer broadcasters and relies on fundraising, donations, grants and sponsorships to continue serving the community.

Today Triple T broadcasts across a broad region including Townsville, Magnetic Island, Palm Island, Charters Towers, Hinchinbrook, Cardwell and the lower Burdekin. Over the years, the station has also supported the development of neighbouring community stations including 4K1G (Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Radio), Bwgcolman Community Radio on Palm Island and Sweet FM in Home Hill.