Historic Auckland: Radio Hauraki hist John Hawkesby at the microphone with other Radio Hauraki staff including Phil Gifford, Phil Yule, Kevin Black and Julie Collier. Photo / NZME
Historic Auckland: Radio Hauraki hist John Hawkesby at the microphone with other Radio Hauraki staff including Phil Gifford, Phil Yule, Kevin Black and Julie Collier. Photo / NZME
Opinion
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of our original pirate radio station. NZ On Screen’s Nicky Harrop celebrates 50 years of Radio Hauraki, both on air and on screen.
December 4th 1966 marks a landmark date in New Zealand's media history - the birth of a new era of modern radio. On that day, Radio Hauraki brought rock 'n' roll to the radio, broadcasting as a pirate station aboard the Tiri (and later the Tiri II) on the waters of Auckland's Hauraki Gulf. From spluttering local transmissions, to today's nationwide network, the following capture some key moments in Hauraki's history.
The arrival of Hauraki rocked the boat in more ways than one. The station skirted the law by operating offshore during its first three years, determined to break the state-owned stranglehold on New Zealand's airwaves. Hauraki's directors and the Tiri crew all faced arrest in 1966. This vintage TV news compilation opens with an item outlining their charges.
Named after the territorial water limit Hauraki originally operated outside of, 3 Mile Limit recreates the station's early years. The film charts the rise of the pirates, overcoming a government broadcasting monopoly, courtroom rulings and deadly storms at sea in their battle to get to air.
See the trailer for 3 Mile Limit here:
Made in 2014, Pirates of the Airwaves also focused on Hauraki's beginnings. Based on the book Radio Pirates, the docudrama framed events from the perspective of the late Rick Grant, a young Hauraki announcer who was tragically lost overboard during a storm on the Tiri II. Also included are current-day interviews with a number of the original pirates.
See the trailer for Pirates of the Airwaves here:
Unsurprisingly Hauraki attracted its fair share of characters, among them early DJ and Commercial Manager, Colin Broadley. These 1986 interview excerpts see Broadley reflect on exciting, and dangerous, times aboard the Hauraki boat - in contrast to his then-current life as a Coromandel beekeeper.
Another legendary Hauraki character was former host Kevin 'Blackie' Black. Black ruled the airwaves in the 70s and early 80s, manning the station's irreverent and much-loved breakfast show. In 1981, he briefly forayed into music, recording The Fridge - a spoof of Deane Waretini's chart-topping The Bridge - with the help of Hauraki's creative team. Black passed away in 2013.
See the video for The Fridge here:
Originally made as a student film, Rock The Boat - The Story of Radio Hauraki 1965-1970 reunited the original pirates for the first time in 30 years. Between rare archive footage, former Hauraki directors David Gapes, Denis O'Callahan, Chris Parkinson and Derek Lowe (with DJs Bob Leahy, Ross Goodwin, Ian Magan and engineer Chris Prouse) recall the part they played in a radio revolution.
Watch Rock The Boat - The Story of Radio Hauraki in full here:
Learn more about the history of Radio Hauraki, at AudioCulture.
