About Us
The station is operated entirely by a devoted band of volunteers, (with no paid staff) and is a very important part of the Burdekin district's social and cultural life, broadcasting easy listening music, news, a varied mix of programmes and offering forums for discussing local and regional issues. The station caters for a wide listening audience, its strength being its diversity, with programmes in Italian, Greek, Christian,Youth, Country, Old Time, Weather, News, and Community Announcements
Suitably qualified volunteers carry out the entire technical operations of the station, which provides a training ground for other volunteers. Our chief technician, Mr. David Giffard, was awarded the 2008 Citizen of the Year Achievement Award for his years of dedication to the station, and Assistant Manager Mrs. Merle Scott received nominations for both 2007 and 2008 SeniorAustralian of the Year Award and also appeared in the Australian Government 2007 "Still Inspiring" Calendar.
As a service to the community the station broadcasts messages for other non-profit organisations and groups free of charge, for example, we air Funeral Notices as they come to hand, from Funeral Directors just like in years gone by.
The Station recognises it's obligation to deliver community services at any and all times especially during periods of emergency and natural disasters. During the floods of January/& February 2008 and again in 2009 with the addition of Cyclone Hamish, the volunteers doing three hourly shifts provided constant updates on river heights at the Burdekin and Haughton Rivers with information provided by the Burdekin Shire Council and Bureau of Meteorology. With the invaluable assistance of the local police, we were able to give up to the minute detailed road reports on roads north and south of the Burdekin and west to Charters Towers as well as local flood reports. Queensland Rail supplied regular updates on the movement of rail traffic.
Cyclone Ului in March 2010 again tested us - this time it appeared the cyclone was headed straight for the Burdekin area - thankfully we were spared and we are mindful of the destruction experienced by our southern neighbours,
Listeners are advised to leave their radio tuned to 97.1 Sweet FM and as soon as information is received from the Shire Council, Bureau of Meteorology, Police, Queensland Rail etc it goes to air immediately and is repeated until the next update is received.
One of our special services to the Burdekin Community is to reunite lost animals with their owners.
A grant from the Gambling Community Benefits Fund enabled the studio to be completely refurbished, and provided new equipment, giving the volunteers the best means possible to continue presenting first-class programming. A greatly appreciated donation of full length English Wool Drapes to line the studio walls, courtesy of Entertainment Services Theatrical in Brisbane, has also assured continued quality acoustics.
The station transmits from 97.1 on the FM dial and can be heard throughout the CBD in Queen Street in Ayr, at the Comfort Stop in Home Hill by way of speakers, and also at Rita Island, Groper Creek, Cape Upstart and other centres throughout the shire. The volunteers welcome calls for information and requests and visitors to the area, as well as locals, are most welcome to call into the studio to say G'day.