“Can-Do’ Support for the Community”

Early 1981 in a farm on the South Australian border. The farmer, Gordon Coad, was given to dreaming and as a radio ‘ham’ was fascinated by the possibilities for communication, as he spoke to his ‘ham’ mates around the world each night.

As Gordon drove his tractor in “ever-decreasing circles” he heard on ABC Radio a new type of radio service called community radio. He saw a solution to the “radio desert” in and around Bordertown….a locally owned radio service powered by volunteers with local input and local benefits and a lot of fun for the participants.

5 years later, 5tcb was on air and licensed.

5tcb is unashamedly parochial. It is about ensuring local people have access to all the information they need. It is about providing a service, providing a resource and ensuring the community does not miss out.

Everybody’s station, 5tcb serves listener, sponsor, member and community body.

It has been an exciting story, from broadcasting on a simple turntable, cassette player and microphone from Gordon’s spare bedroom to a fully fledged broadcast and recording studio complex with multimedia in a purpose built building.

5tcb has a spirit of “can-do”. The spirit is embracing all the towns around Bordertown having a community of interest through local government, sport and recreation. There is a culture of making the station as good as it can be, and training the people within it to be the best they can be, so that the district boasts not just world class sporting facilities, but world class broadcasting.

Why? Why us? Why here? Why now? Because without it the district is the poorer. Without it there would be no continuous stream of music information and promotion. No local daily support of local events. No reminder of that meeting. No way to track down your lost dog. Limited local business promotion. It is 5tcb which packages up the daily rural information gathered by journalist Leigh Muster and sends it out by satellite to 40 other radio stations around Australia.

The cost of operating 5tcb is high, because the population is low. But 5tcb is well supported by local business, local government and local people. It is a leader in the community radio sector for local sponsorship support.

The rewards are great, as countless hundreds of people from 14 to 80 years of age have learned self-discipline, motivation, a career path, or a new skill enabling them to develop their love of music or people.

5tcb is a shining example of how good, how inclusive, and how much fun radio can be, as a stand-alone local. If you have something to offer, why not join us?