From humble beginnings, with a few volunteers broadcasting a limited range of programs from a small house in Ainslie in April 1985, the station eventually established itself in its present location in March 1987 on a five acre block in Gunghalin provided by the A.C.T. Government.

This move was assisted greatly by the Canberra Institute of Technology, whose building trades students built the twenty square purpose-designed building which continues today to serve as offices and studios.

The new premises were officially opened by Senator Margaret Reid.

Broadcasts were commenced in March 1987 on 1620 kHz and 500 watts, using an ABC standby transmitter. The vision and leadership of the Reverend Dr. Ivor Vivian in these early days contributed positively to establishing Radio 1RPH.

 

Towards the Year 2000

In an exciting new development, on October 17 1994, Radio 1RPH moved to the 1125 A.M. frequency and increased its power from 500 to 2000 watts. This placed 1RPH in the middle of the main broadcast band, between two of Canberra's commercial A.M. stations and extends its range to a point where, for the first time, print handicapped persons in the southern suburbs of Canberra and in the surrounding region as far afield as Braidwood, Goulburn and Yass can hear its programs and benefit from its information services. This dramatic improvement was made possible by a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth Government as part of its National Broadcast Plan, which enabled us to build two masts and install our own transmitters.

 

Service extended to Wagga Wagga

On 21st May 2009, another exciting development took place. This was the extension of our radio reading service to the NSW city of Wagga Wagga. Wagga is the largest inland city in NSW and is situated 140km west of Canberra. Programs are relayed to Wagga directly from our Canberra studios. The station operates on a frequency of 89.5 MHz in the FM band and with a power of 500 Watts.

You will find further information on our Wagga station by following this link Wagga .

 

 

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