Tiga Bayles: It was 1980, '81. My mother, Maureen Watson, came back from a conference in Alice Springs, where she saw CAAMA Radio. Came back talking about this Aboriginal radio station, or these Aboriginal people that were working in radio—we were in Redfern at the time. She came back talking about radio and how it was important and we should be looking at it down in Sydney, in Redfern. She said, come on, let's go in here. We'll talk to the manager of 2SER. So we went in there. She got 10 minutes a week for starters. It was just a 10-minute little filler, but there was an empty spot, I suppose, in their programming. And within a month-and-a-half, two months, we learned how to panel ourselves. It wasn't good enough just sitting there being talking heads, we wanted to panel and press the buttons and do it ourselves. From there, within three months or so we said we want more than 10 minutes, so we expanded that time to one hour a week and did that quite regularly. Mum started it out, and because she travelled a lot, I filled in when she was away.

So it really all started out there at 2SER back in the early 80s. And it expanded from there where I did a three-hour music program from midnight until 3am. That was a black music show, and did that for about five years or so. But our biggest problem down there, Donna, was the Kooris. Like it was difficult to get Kooris to leave the community of Redfern, even though Broadway's only a 10-minute walk. About '83, '84 Skid Row got a licence. The very first allocation by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal of community licenses in Sydney. There were nine licences issued in '83, '84. And Radio Skid Row got one of those licences, and they were based in the Wentworth building of Sydney University, down in the basement. And they stepped up and said, there's 10 hours a week for you Kooris—straight up, ten hours. We almost fell over in shock, thinking however could we manage ten hours a week? But it was good. It was good, because it put the pressure on us then to get more people involved. But again, ten minutes walk up to Newtown there, to King Street from Redfern—it was still difficult to get our people out.

But we grew that, from '83, '84, that ten hours grew to 40 hours a week, and a real partnership thing. I was elected as chair of the Skid Row station at some point—'85 or so. We ended up with our own studios in about '84—twelve months or two years or so of being on air, and having the difficulty of bringing Aboriginal people from Redfern into either one of these studios. And the reason they didn't want to go there, it wasn't our place, it wasn't our environment, it wasn't our community. We weren't in control. It wasn't our place. So we thought, well, let's take radio back into Redfern. Let's put studios in Redfern. And that's how Radio Redfern was born, really. It emerged, was established, as a result of just bringing radio into the community, and that's how we got the name of Radio Redfern. People in the community just dropped in and talk and chat, and cuppa tea—it was a real hub, especially for visitors. But for the local community—visitors when they come to town looking for an organisation or a family member or somebody, or a friend—they'd come to the station.

excerpt from Indigenous Media ABC 2RN
was http://www.abc.net.au/rn/learning/lifelong/stories/s1174633.htm

 Vol 10 Nos 1&2 1992 - reprinted with permission

Radio Redfern  -  The Koori voice in Sydney

Wayne Costelloe     

Located in an old terrace house in Cope Street, Redfern, is the voice of the Aboriginal community in Sydney. The terrace house is not unlike any other in the inner city. However with the Koori colours on one wall and the music of Koori bands blasting out from speakers up on the balcony, the house is fairly outstanding.

On entering the building, past the first room, is the reception area. Here hangs an Aboriginal flag, surrounded by a Rainbow Serpent, which snakes across the walls and ceiling. There are oiher traditional designs and motifs which flood this room and one can be overwhelmed with a sense of being in a sacred cave. Up at the end of a narrow staircase is the mixing room where the reel tapes are recorded. Koori music is the predominant occupant on these reels and each volunteer DJ makes up their own mixes. These reels then go into the library on the ground floor and are for the general use of the announcers whilst on their shift. An elaborate registry system is in place to easily locate particular songs when and if they are required for airplay.        In the back room, next to the kitchen, is the broadcasting room. What was once presumably a bedroom is now converted, with all the trappings of a radio station, There is the console to air, three revox reels, one cassette deck, two turntables, one cartridge and three microphones. There is also the facility to conduct telephone interviews.        These resources leave Radio Redfern open for growth and development in its role. As was mentioned earlier, Radio Redfern is the voice of the Aboriginal community in Sydney and its role takes the form of communitv announcements, ie rallies, services etc,, catering for the musical taste of the listeners (the audience wants to hear Koori bands), and finally, being seen as a positive and constructive move towards maintaining and supporting the culture of our people.        An example of the influence of Radio Redfern is how the community was rallied to attend a protest march in support of the inquiry into the death of David Gundy and black deaths in custody. A further example is the calling together of the clans for a football match.        Radio Redfern is 88.9 FM on the dial and currently holds approximately forty hours of airtime, which is a vast improvement of 15 minutes per reel hosted by the enigmatic Maureen Watson circa 1982/3. In those early days 'Radio', (as it is affectionatelv known to local Kooris), was affiliated with 2SER. However, Radio Skid Row is the current umbrella group. This is an FM community radio which has a broadcasting licence and sells airtime to various communlty groups.        Tiga Bayles who hosted Radio Skid Row gradually built it up from 30 minutes per week to its present airtime. The Public Broadcasting Foundation and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs contribute money to Radio to assist in general administration and broadcasting costs.

All the announcers with Radio Redfern are voluntary, as I am. My association with Radio came about as a result of a friend in Redfern thinking, "You would be good as an announcer and there need to be more Kooris doing shifts". I had no previous experience in this sort of thing so I had to think about it. In the end I took it on and, in one easy lesson from a seasoned announcer and now good friend, I launched into radio broadcasting.        I was pretty much thrown in the deep end having to do a four hour shift every Saturday from 12 midday to 4pm. I was left with a four hour shift after one announcer finished to be with his expecting wife. However, I loved having this much time and space to experiment in. So I did community announcements, held live interviews, a live didgeridoo performance and had a feature which I called Koori Three Pack of songs every thirty minutes or so and attracted an appreciative audience.        At present I am down to a two hour shift which is good news because that means more Koori people are doing shifts which in turn means a greater community involvement by the very target group catered for. The doors of Radio Redfern are open to the public, giving that freedom for people off the street to come in and say hi to friends and family over the airwaves, or to make requests, dedications or announcements. This is indicative of the sharing and openness that remains part of our culture. True community radio.      The music library is quite comprehensive with at least all of the known contemporary Aboriginal music present and accounted for. There are also a few reels of traditional music. Included in the library is a vast range of country and western music from Australia and the United States, this style being a great part in the lives of our people across the country. Many of the announcers, including myself, bring in our own music, which in itself presents varying styles of tastes, and the listening audience is exposed to more than a few styles.        Many of the bands and artists featured on Radio Redfern take time out to come in and be interviewed live whilst they are doing a stint in Sydney, They also perform at The Settlement, the Aboriginal Community Centre in Edward Street, Chippendale, which makes it a special night.        Radio Redfern has a bright future and its role will increase significantly in the broadcasting arena that is Sydney. The competitive edge that Radio has is that it is Aboriginal operated. In an environment where the status of Aboriginal people is improving through art and music, this is unique and important.

ARTLINK  61 VOL10 NOS1&2

http://www.artlink.com.au/articles.cfm?id=887