Community
13 November, 2022
"Gazza´s Goss: Sending a clear signal to the Douglas Shire!"
IT is a well-known fact that residents of the Douglas Shire are always very keen and proud to take ownership of all things relevant to the area, including business, events and local government.
To put it another way, locals are more than keen to be self-sufficient and not be dependent on larger towns in the region.
It has been felt for some time that the Douglas Shire needs its own voice, providing a platform for discussion, community news and entertainment.
With this in mind, there is no better way to achieve all of this than with the Douglas Shire’s very own radio station, which like this great newspaper, still provides the best and most popular way to get the local message across.
Fortunately, that is about to happen, as after two years of tremendous effort by a locally formed committee, a new radio station is about to hit the airwaves on 101.5FM, in the form of Community Radio Station, Douglas FM.
Coverage for the station will include Port Douglas, Mossman, the Daintree and surrounds, with support and funding being supplied by local businesses.
The words ‘community radio station’ may well cause some concern and assumption that output could possibly be a little amateurish.
Rest assured that this will certainly not be the case with Douglas FM, as apart from regular daily team of experienced jocks, any community members new to the airwaves will be fully trained prior to broadcasting.
The above-mentioned weekday jocks will include Paul Makin for ‘Brekkie’ from 7AM, Dave ‘Barney’ Barnett for late mornings and yours truly Gary ‘Gazza’ McIlroy for ‘Drive’ from 4PM.
All three combined have experiences extending well over 100 years. Although test transmissions have been running for a couple of weeks, the official start date is this coming Monday, November 14, which will be attended by local MP Warren Entsch and other guests from 9AM.
The studios, which previously belonged to FAB FM, can be found at the Choo Choo’s Train Platform, next to the Marina in Port Douglas. If you are passing through anytime, be sure to give the team a wave through the window, or better still, maybe contact them regarding a radio show idea that you may have for Douglas FM.
The station can be contacted via email at info@douglasfm.au In the mean time, make sure you are tuned in this coming Monday on 101.5FM and why not follow the station on their Douglas FM Facebook page.
I’d better get off for a sound check, so for now it’s Gazza signing out! Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
