Perth Radio 6WF (former Westralian Farmers Building)
In 1924, the Westralian Farmers Co operative Limited (Wesfarmers) began operating radio station 6WF from the top floor of the company’s Wellington Street building. The first manager and chief engineer of 6WF was Wally Coxon, who has been described as "The Father of Radio in Western Australia".
The radio station comprised two studios, the smaller used for news broadcasting, the larger for music and entertainment. The studios were fitted with the latest equipment for the era, with the wall cavities filled with sawdust for soundproofing. Two massive radio towers, each weighing 3.5 tons, were located on top of the building. 6WF was initially a long wave station with 5 kilowatts of power on 1,250 metres, 240 kHz.
The station facilities were installed at a cost of approximately £12,000 and could broadcast up to 1,000 kilometres. To gain extra coverage for 6WF programs, Wally Coxon also broadcast on the short wave band, as these radio frequencies can reach vast distances by being refracted back to earth by the ionosphere (a phenomenon known as “skywave propagation”). Important factors when 6WF was targeting the widely dispersed farming community.
The Australian Broadcasting Company took over five years later in 1929 and Coxon was replaced by the ABC's own engineer from Sydney. Wally Coxon went on to later support the radio network used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, building the 'Coxon Communicator' an inexpensive and efficient radio used at many outposts across the State.
References:
The 6WF Story - Part 1 of 3
