Community gem: Village Radio turns 34 thanks to passionate volunteers

Village Radio announcer and co-manager George Stewart's passion for radio and "everything vinyl" is well known. Photo/Andrew Warner

Tauranga's heritage Village Radio station is still going strong after 34 years of operation this week thanks to volunteers like George Stewart.

The station, which broadcasts from the Historic Village seven days a week and first hit the airwaves on April 13, 1984, is run by a group of about 20 volunteers.

That includes Stewart, a well-known radio personality and announcer who also co-manages the station with volunteer Brian Williams.

Stewart, who is one of the 14 announcers and the person in charge of daily operations, joined the Village Radio team in 2011. The station broadcasts on AM band 1368khz.

"The whole purpose of the station is to broadcast nostalgic, timeless music from the 1920s to the 1990s. We celebrate old favourites including big band icons Glenn Miller Orchestra and American King of Swing Benny Goodman," Stewart said.

"A lot of our older listeners are not mobile or unwell but they just love listening to music from their heyday.

"It's the only community station, as far as I'm aware that broadcasts music going back to the bygone era. We're providing a vital service for older people in our community."

Stewart said the common denominator between him and the other volunteers was their love of music and passion for sharing it with their listeners.

"We all have different gifts here, including a lady who works in our library looking after the more than 120,000 tracks and tens of thousands of records."

Born in Carterton, Stewart, 80, started his career in radio after joining the New Zealand Broadcasting Service in 1960 and gained his first-class certificate in radio technology.

He worked at 3YZ/3ZA studios in Greymouth, 3YA in Christchurch, Quartz Hill Receiving Station in Makara, Wellington, Broadcasting House in Wellington, and 2ZE in Blenheim.

Stewart then moved to Tauranga with wife Dorothy in 1976 and became the supervising technician for 1ZD Tauranga.

He then retrained as a Tauranga news journalist and reporter with Kiwi FM in 1988, and in 1991 was appointed news editor of 93.4 Coastline FM station in Tauranga.

After retiring in 2003, Stewart joined the Village Radio team in 2011, the same year as Tauranga Village Radio Museum Incorporated chairman and announcer Steve Lambie.

Stewart's love of community radio and "everything vinyl" is clear to see as he shows us the radio's library shelves packed with about 15,000 records and several hundred CDs.

The Village Radio's library is one of the largest vinyl collections in the country, he said.

Stewart said keeping the radio station going was "definitely a team effort".

He was instrumental in helping to raise the $30,000 needed to buy a new solid-state transmitter installed last June, and also keeping the old one going.

"I'm only one person of a wonderful team of broadcasting enthusiasts who share a love of music and communication, via the airwaves."

VOLUNTEERS WANTED:

People interested in being an announcer must have a pleasant speaking voice and a good general knowledge of music. Full training is given. Call George Stewart on 07 571 3710.