Radio station 5MU turns 90
It’s one of the oldest stations in South Australia, and on Monday, Murray Bridge’s own 5MU celebrated a milestone.
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It was already one of the oldest radio stations in South Australia, but Murray Bridge’s own 5MU has just celebrated a special milestone: its 90th birthday.
It was on September 16, 1934 that local radio enthusiast Frank Miller began broadcasting from a shack on the corner of Thomas Street and Eleanor Terrace, Murray Bridge.
He had been a keen amateur radio operator in the years beforehand, according to his great nephew, Peter Callow: “He used to talk to people from all over the world.”
A team of volunteers helped him put up a wooden mast and an aerial with a 50-watt transmitter.
The station was officially opened on the evening of September 15 by state MP John Cowan, an event which was reported on by The Mount Barker Courier – after all, Murray Bridge would not have its own newspaper until several months later.
Mr Miller would remain with the station until his retirement in 1953.
Meanwhile, it welcomed the first in a succession of new owners in 1935: Advertiser Newspapers, who turned it into a relay station for Adelaide-based 5AD.
5MU got a new transmitter at Gifford Hill, with increased power, in the 1950s.
In the coming decades the station developed a close working relationship with the Hambidge family and their local newspaper, The Murray Valley Standard; and in 1970 it switched its frequency from 1450 to 1458 kilohertz on the AM band.
On the airwaves, on water and on the road, 5MU was everywhere in the 1970s and 80s. Photos: 5MU.
In 1982 new media ownership laws prompted the company now known as News Limited to sell up, and the station passed into local hands: those of David and Dianne Bean and Phil McEvoy.
Tragically, Mr Bean passed away only last week.
Mr McEvoy – a former announcer and content director – took to the airwaves to reminisce.
“(Mr Bean) was very active in the community – he drove the radio station to do great things for Murray Bridge, the Adelaide Hills and Victor Harbor,” he said.
“One of the things that I think he would be particularly proud of was converting the Murray Bridge Festival into something called the Big River Challenge, where we invited sporting groups from all over South Australia ... to come to Murray Bridge and compete against the local teams.
“It was terribly, terribly successful – really lifted the town.”
Many of the station’s employees during the 1980s, like some of those before and since, went on to glittering careers in the industry, Mr McEvoy recalled, including:
- Mark Taylor, now CEO of Ace Radio Broadcasters and its 21 stations
- Chris Glenn,a radio DJ now based in Nagoya, Japan
- Jeff Allis, who discovered announcers including Hamish Blake, Andy Lee and Kyle Sandilands with Austereo, then went on to co-found Boost Juice
- Current SA FM announcer Sean Craig Murphy
“David mentored all of these people, and he had a way of challenging you to be your best, to make each show better than the last; and he really encouraged you to look at what made the audience tick,” Mr McEvoy said.
The station also switched its frequency to the familiar 1125AM in the late 80s.
More changes went on over the next few years: more ownership changes, from the locals to Allan Scott’s South East Telecasters, to the Cameron family-owned Grant Broadcasters; and the launch of sister station Power FM in 2000.
5MU made the momentous move from AM to its current FM frequencies, including 96.3FM in the Murraylands, in 2021; and became part of the national ARN network in 2022.
The station has used the same call sign since day one in 1934, making it the oldest continually used call sign in South Australia.
It is also the second-oldest radio station in the state.
For that, breakfast host and content director Adam Connelly thanked the generations of announcers and staffers who had remained committed to serving the Murraylands, Adelaide Hills and South Coast; and the listeners who had remained loyal to the local network.
“The wonderful Mel Dzelde told me that 5MU listeners are the best in the world, and she was right,” he said.
“Through famine and flood, drought and delight, 5MU and the community have cherished each other.
“We love our history, and we are excited for the future.”
5MU has featured talented broadcasters in its past – including Keith McCarten, Anne "Willsy" Wills and Mel and Chris Dzelde, pictured with Adam Connelly – and present, in Jacquie Irvine, Connelly, Jennie Lenman and Chris Guscott. Photos: 5MU.
The station’s 90th birthday celebrations kicked off with a special show hosted by Mr Connelly, Jennie Lenman, Jacquie Irvine-Creaser and Chris Guscott, with cameos from former presenters Chris Dzelde, Anne Wills, Steve Davis and Mr Murphy, plus general manager Dave Shearer.
The celebrations will continue with a 90th birthday event at Murray Bridge Golf Club in November.
- More information: Listen to highlights from 5MU’s 90th birthday below, or visit soundcloud.com/adam-and-jennie-on-5mu.
- Tune in: Listen to 5MU at 96.3FM in the Murraylands, 94.3FM in the Adelaide Hills or 97.1FM on the Fleurieu.
The Radio Murray Bridge crew celebrate 5MU's 90th birthday. Video: Peri Strathearn.
