page_title: Bald Hills Radiator
section_title: The move to Bald Hills
hierarchical_section_title: Bald Hills Radiator / History / The move to Bald Hills
caption_attribution_description: English: Erection of the Bald Hills radio transmitter, 1942. As a result of Japan's entry into World War II, and anxiety for Australia's security, it was felt that a new transmitting aerial needed to be constructed to replace the city aerials which were on the roof of strategic city buildings. The new site chosen was the Bald Hills transmitter site, one mile to the north of the Bald Hills Village. It was designed by Alf Howard and Vernon Kenna, the divisional engineer, PMG's broadcast construction department. (Description supplied with photograph.).
context_page_description: Bald Hill Radiator is a radio transmission centre at 99 Kluver St, Bald Hills, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the National Broadcasting Service Radio Transmission Centre. It is listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register. The centre transmits all the Brisbane AM radio programmes of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
context_section_description: At the start of World War II, Brisbane's skyline was dominated by five high aerial towers, of which two served 4QG and one 4QR. A further two towers served commercial stations.
  Land acquisitions for the current Bald Hills site commenced in 1940. The first aerial was erected on the site in 1941; it was constructed from 8 inches (200 mm) and 6 inches (150 mm) bore casing and was 262 feet (80 m) high. The transmitter building was made of brick with a fibro roof. It was built by Thomas Frederick of Days Road, Wilston, under a contract awarded in July 1941, and work had started by October 1941. The farm buildings were removed at about this time.
  In March 1942 General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to be appointed supreme commander of the Allied Forces in the South-West Pacific. The AMP Building in Queen Street, Brisbane, (now the MacArthur Chambers) was chosen for MacArthur's headquarters because of its central location and reinforced concrete roof. It was feared that the presence of all these high aerial towers would act as a navigational aid for Japanese aircraft seeking to attack MacArthur's headquarters. This accelerated the need to shift the transmitters out of the city centre.
  The first transmission from the Bald Hills site was of 4QR, on 24 March 1942, using the transmitter moved the previous night from the Central Telephone Exchange in the city. In April 1942, the 4QG transmitter was also relocated to Bald Hills but not to this site but to another Bald Hills site leased from the commercial station 4BH. Known as Fischle's Jam Factory, the 4BH site was at Roghan Road near Neville Road, next to Fischle's. Bald Hills residents of the time were not impressed by this transfer of risk of Japanese attack to their area.
  As the Queensland segment of the National Broadcasting Service (NBS) was restricted to Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville, it was proposed to use high frequency (short wave) transmission to give some cover to the rest of Queensland. VLQ first went to air on 17 February 1943, transmitted by STCA880A.
  Land acquisitions for the present site continued through to July 1943 when the Australian Government resumed the 114 acre (46ha) property from J W Guy.
  The transmitter building was extended in 1945-46.
  After World War II had ended, the existing vertical radiator was erected in 1947.
  The building was further extended 1962 and has been internally modified at least twice when equipment was upgraded, once in 1968 and again in about 1994.
  In two later stages, (c 1970, 1980) there were minor reductions in the land holding of the site, for road widening and subdivisional redevelopment. The current area of the site is 43ha.
caption: Erection of the Bald Hills radio transmitter, 1942
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