History of Radio 4EB
On the 4th of December 2000, Radio 4EB celebrated its 21st anniversary of commencing regular broadcasting. By any means it is a huge achievement. From its humble beginnings above a Greek Bakery in West End, with a single 'primitive' looking studio, Radio 4EB has come a long way. Today, 4EB is considered one of the most accomplished and successful ethnic radio stations in Australia. It has given leadership in many areas of ethnic broadcasting.
The true beginning of the Radio 4EB was closely linked to the first test broadcast of the Ethnic Broadcasting Association of Queensland (EBAQ), which took place at the top floor of the Ridge Motel, Spring Hill in 1977. Later on, EBAQ was granted an "S" class public broadcasting license and as a result, Radio 4EB started to operate from above the Greek Bakery in West End with 20 language groups and 800 members.
Radio 4EB started 24 hours a day full time broadcasting in 1981 and in the same year moved to a new large premises in Montague Road, West End. In 1981, the frequency of Radio 4EB changed from 1485 to 1053 and the power was increased from 107 Watts to 500 Watts. This has been instrumental in widening its services to broader and wider groups of the ethnic community. 1988 was a remarkable year for 4EB as it was able to secure the new permanent premises at 140 Main Street, Kangaroo Point. Today, Radio 4EB has over 4500 members and 4500 members and 52 language groups and it provides the only full time ethnic broadcasting service in Queensland. The station also provides facilities for panel training and licensing, nationally accredited broadcasting courses and Internet training courses.
In June 2000, Radio 4EB learned that the Australian Broadcasting Authority granted the station, a change of license specification from 105.3 AM to 98.1 FM. The conversion will take place in 2001 and it will represent a significant boost to the station in terms of geographic spread, technical capacity and potential listeners. More importantly, this marks a new chapter in the evolution of Radio 4EB.
A Concise History of the Sri Lankan Group
It was Saturday the 1st of December 1979 when the Radio 4EB went to air for the first time. Two months later on the 4th of February 1980, the first Sri Lankan programme hit the air waves and the Sri Lanka Society of Queensland played a major role in initiating this. Mr Don Dias Jayasinghe, the Secretary of the Society at that time presented the first programme with Charmaine Andrado as co-host. According to him the people who were involved with the first programme were Mr Pat Abey, Dennis and Charmaine Andrado, and Dawn and Baba Sourjah. At this stage the Sri Lanka Society of Queensland was responsible for presenting a monthly, half hour programme on a Sunday and the main focus of this, was to to present a weekly update of news from back home, and entertain the local Sri Lankan community with Sinhala music. Historical and cultural segments were also produced and a community news segment was included to give publicity to the activities of the Sri Lanka Society. Mr Jayasinghe nostalgically remembers that the first Sinhala song that was played on this programme was "Danno Budunge"
"qN@n~ £ŚN@G".
Having steered the programme through its initial period, Mr Jayasinghe later handed over the reins to Mr Ken Harvie who presented his first programme on the first Sunday of May 1981 with co-host Mrs Khema Perera. In 1983, Mr Harvie was appointed the group's first convenor, a post he held until 1987 when Mr Haritha Wijeratne took over that role. In 1985 the group got a second programme which was broadcast on Mondays between 9.00am and 10.00am. This extra programme was continued only up to 1988.
In 1990 the Sri Lankan group saw another change in its leadership, and this time it was Dr Lakshman Jayasinghe who took up the position of convenor. Basically the programme content and format continued along the same lines, with segments being produced on a variety of subjects. The spoken word was mainly English, the aim being to reach a wider Brisbane community and promote the country and its culture to this audience.
Towards the late eighties and early nineties, with increased migration of more Sri Lankans to Brisbane, the listnership grew in numbers. With this increased popularity of the radio programme, the aspirations of the listeners also changed and there was a yearning to hear more Sinhala on air. These changes were brought about when a new committee took over in 1992 under the convenorship of Mr. Dharme Ratnayake, who continued to oversee operations until 1997.
During this period, the Sri Lankan group went through a series of changes. The most significant one was the transition of the programme from being produced in the English language to one of Sinhala language. More volunteers of diverse skills and abilities got actively involved with programme production and presentation, who brought a great deal of variety into the programme. At this stage, there were six regular programme presenters. With the programme reaching a wider Sri Lankan community, more sponsors were also found to support the work.
In 1997, Mrs Kanthi Wijesoma was elected the convenor of the Sri Lankan Group followed by Dr. Jayantha Amaratunge in 1998. Dr. Amaratunge was able to venture into new areas and his goal of involving the Sri Lankan youth in programme presentation was realised when an extra programme slot was allocated to the group. This programme named, "Sandella"
The next Convenor was Dr. Keshawa Edirisinghe who was first elected in March 1999. Under his guidance, more improvements were made to the programme to make the listener feel more closer to home. The introduction of direct telephone links with Sri Lanka on every Sunday for bringing in the latest news analysis and current affairs was a positive step towards maintaining this closeness with Sri Lanka. Mr. Karunadasa Sooriarachchi (Kasuri), a renowned journalist from Sri Lanka, started bringing in weekly news analysis from Sri Lanka. The web page of the Sri Lankan group was launched during this peiod. Dr Edirisinghe was also elected as a director of Radio 4EB in September 2000.
At the AGM of 2004, Aravinda
Rubasinghe was re-elected Convenor of the group. The momentum of the group
continued with further improvements during this period and in July 2004, we
saw the introduction of a Sandella Youth Programme. The first Tuesday of
each month is now set aside for the Sandella youth and this programme is
progressing well. Two Sinhala movies were screened during this time, ‘Ran
Diya Dahara’ in September 2004 and ‘Sooriya Arana’ in April 2005. The
highlight of the year was the 25 year anniversary celebrations of Radio 4EB.
As part of the celebrations, all past convenors, programme producers and
well wishers were felicitated at a tea party and some of the pictures taken
on that occasion can be seen on this web. It was a momentous occasion where
the past met the present and certificates of merit were presented to all
those who had contributed to the Radio 4EB over the years. At the AGM of 2005, Jayasiri
Weerawardena was elected as the Convenor of the group.
At the AGM held in April 2001, Vasanthe Vithanage was elected as the new Convenor of the Group for 2001/2002. The current affairs segment improved further with more specialist commentators joining the programme from Sri Lanka frequently. There was much interest in panel training during this period and for the first time in the history of the Group, ladies were involved in this area. Lakshmee Gunetillake became the first Sri Lankan lady to gain competency in panel training and Prema Weerawardena closely followed her. May 2001 marked a sad period for the Group as Esmin Gonsakorale who has been a live wire of the Group passed away after a long illness. In addition to participating in Sri Lankan events such as the New Year celebrations, the Group also participated in the "Multicultural Carnivale", Annual Christmas Toy Appeal and the Annual Australia Day Parade. A Musical Show, "Malvarusa" organized by the Group was a great success and was well received by the community. At the AGM held on 10th March 2002, Vasanthe Vithanage was elected as the Convenor of the Group for another year. Year 2002 marked the conversion of the 4EB radio to FM on the 98.1 meter band. In 2002 the Radio group participated in the annual Radiothon with enthusiasm. A popular professional Sinhala drama from Sri Lanka, "Padada Asapuwa", was staged in Brisbane in March 2003. This was the first ever staging of a professional Sinhala Play in Brisbane and was a great success. With the convesrion to FM the casette music was being phased out. A library of Sinhala CDs was started this year with 10 CDs.
At the AGM held in May 2003, Aravinda Rubasinghe was elected as the new Convenor of the Group for 2003/2004.
During this period, the radio group moved forward with
various new initiatives. With the aim of improving the quality of radio
programmes, a listener survey was initiated early in September 2003. A blood
donation campaign was organised for the 2nd May 2004 to mark the
Harmony Day and to coincide with the Wesak festivities. A large number of
Sri Lankans responded to this call and the blood donation was a great
success. One Sinhala film, ‘Agni Daahaya’ was screened on the 24th
April 2004, but the key event of the year was the staging of the ever
popular singer, Victor Ratnayake’s “Sa” Musical show on the 7th
August 2004. The regular Sri Lankan news analyst and commentator, Kasuri,
was also invited by the group to visit Brisbane at the same time. When
Kasuri took the stage to wind up the “Sa” musical show, which he handled
very professionally, the Brisbane radio listeners, for the first time, were
able to fit in a face to the familiar voice that they hear every Sunday
through the radio news analysis segment. The Radiothon also received a good
response from the Sri Lankan listeners and one Sri Lankan listener/donor was
lucky enough to win the first prize of the Radiothon.
|
Name |
Period of Involvement |
|---|---|
| Don Dias Jayasinghe | 1980/81 |
| Khema Perera | 1980/82 |
| Ken Harvie | 1981/92 |
| Haritha Wijeratne | 1983/89 |
| Maureen Aldridge | 1984/92 |
| Chalani Gunasekera | 1984/92 |
| Bev Croning | 1990/92 |
| Aruni Abeywardene | 1991/93 |
| Gerard Cabraal | 1991/95 |
| Dharme Ratnayake | 1992/97 |
| Hiranthi Walpola | 1992/96 |
| Kanthi Wijesoma | 1992/97 |
| Udeni Konara | 1992/99 |
| Esmin Gonslakorala | 1993/01 |
| Ramya Tennekoon | 1993/95 |
| Senaka Perera | 1996/98 |
| Ananda Samaratunge | 1996/- |
| Jayasiri Weerawardene | 1996/- |
| Pushpakumar Arachchige | 1996/99 |
| Mangala Jayasekera | 1996/97 |
| Jayantha Ameratunge | 1997/98 |
| Shantha Disanayake | 1998/99 |
| Gayani Bandara | 1998/05 |
| Keshava Edirisinghe | 1998/01 |
| Dulip Jayakody | 1998/03 |
| Neelangi Jayakody | 1998/2005 |
| Sugee Kannangara | 1998/01 |
| Ajith Kossinna | 1998/- |
| Aravinda Rubasinghe | 1998/- |
| Vasanthe Vithanage | 1998/2006 |
| Lal de Alwis | 1999/00 |
| Rodney Anagipura | 2000/02 |
| Dharshana Sedera | 2000/02 |
| Tharangie Wickramatunga | 2001/02 |
| Jayantha Wickramatunga | 2001/- |
| Champa Rubasinghe | 2001/02 |
| Lakshmee Gunatillake | 2001/03 |
| Nayana Samaratunga | 2002/- |
| Seetha Gamage | 2004/- |
| Derrick Fernando | 2006/- |
Past Panel Operators
Past Guest Sunday Programme Presenters
Past Regular Sunday Programme Presenters
Past Regular Sandella Programme Presenters
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