4BC went through some big changes

In 1937, 4BC was purchased by the Australian Broadcasting Company. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (Q'land) Pty Ltd was incorporated on April 2, 1937 to administer the licence.


In the ensuing months, 4BC became known as 'The Queensland Key Station of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Network'. Transmission hours were: 6.30am-1pm weekdays, 6.30-9.30am and noon-11pm Saturday, and 7am-noon and 3-10.30pm on Sunday.

In the latter half of 1937, the 4BC staff totalled 50, including 12 announcers.

The Board of Directors, having settled the station down after the change of ownership, decided to relocate the studios from Adelaide Street to the Wintergarden Theatre Building in Queen Street, Brisbane. More than 100 guests attended the lavish opening of the new studios on January 24, 1938. The official ceremony was performed by the Queensland Premier, W. Forgan Smith. To commemorate the occasion, 4BC stayed on the air until midnight.

In his opening speech, the Premier said:

'Radio is revolutionising the life of rural dwellers and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Network, through Radio Station 4BC, is giving a great service in this regard'.

The new premises occupied two floors of the Wintergarden Theatre building. In all, there were four studios. One was suitable for orchestral performances, another for drama, the third studio was for talks and the fourth was for auditions. The announcer worked from a desk in the main orchestral studio which housed a grand piano. A producer's booth was adjacent to the two main studios.

On October 31, 1938, Brisbane Police estimated that 60,000 people had attended the 4BC Christmas Charity Appeal Fun Picnic at Southport Beach. Nine special trains were used to transport the people 50 miles between Brisbane and Southport. A tenth train was booked from Ipswich.

Notable Moments through the 1940s
One of 4BC's most famous broadcasters was Dr W G Goddard, whose weekly broadcasts on international affairs were relayed throughout Queensland.

On October 24, 1938, 5,000 people packed the Brisbane Town Hall to hear one of Dr Goddard's lectures. His talks and discussions on 4BC and the Queensland Provincial stations between 1935 and 1939 built an enormous number of listeners throughout Australia and the Pacific region.

Not long after the second World War broke out, Dr Goddard appealed for money to purchase training aircraft for the RAAF. As a result of this, a total of Forty Thousand Pounds was raised and 26 training aircraft were bought and presented to the Australian Government.

'Morning Devotions' was established in the 1940's by Reverend Vernon Turner, a Director of Christian Broadcasting Association and it was heard daily on 4BC for 40 years.

Another historical event occurred in April 1943 when 4BC opened its new transmitting station at Fig Tree Pocket, on the banks of the Brisbane River.

A new transmitter was purchased, the last to be made by AWA before war conditions froze the manufacture of equipment for civilian use, and a new 220ft tubular steel mast was erected. This gave 4BC a signal that dominated the Brisbane area.


Source: 4BC