Tauranga Village Radio back on the air

Village Radio manager and announcer George Stewart. Photo / File

Tauranga's community Village Radio 1368 AM will be back on the air this week.

Based in the Historic Village, the station has broadcasting daily since 1984 thanks to a team of 28 dedicated volunteers.

Village Radio manager and announcer George Stewart said due to the Covid-19 pandemic the station was closed down on March 22.

Most of the volunteers who broadcast programmes from the Historic Village studios were aged over 70 and were in the most "at-risk" age group, he said.

"This is the longest time we have been off the air since 1984. We know that shutting down the station was a huge disappointment for many elderly and lonely listeners who tuned in every day, but it had to be done."

Stewart said preparations were well under way to go back on the air at 8am on Thursday.

The station's youngest announcer Kate Pollock will kick off the broadcast, followed by Stewart from 10am, and Ken Wadsworth will take charge of the 1pm to 6pm slot.

Stewart said today he and another technician tested all the equipment, including the transmitter to ensure everything was working properly.

Tomorrow two volunteers would come to give the station a thorough spring clean from "top to bottom", he said.

Stewart said for a lot of our listeners Village Radio was "another friendly voice in their room" which they could relate to, especially for those who lived on their own.

He said he and the rest of the dedicated team of volunteers get a "terrific amount of satisfaction" through their work at the station and from all the great feedback.

"For a lot of our announcers, the station has become their life and passion," he said.

"We have a wonderful team and we all can't wait to be get back on the air. We have some great music and programmes ready to go, and people can phone in to make requests."

Stewart said at the moment the station's museum cannot open to the public.