ARCIA heads down memory lane

Your stories, recollections, anecdotes and anything connected to land mobile radio are being sought, to be incorporated into a book documenting the history of land mobile radio in Australia.

The book, History of the Land Mobile Radio Industry in Australia from 1956 to Now, will document the birth, the pioneers, the designers, the manufacturers, and the adoption and the acceptance of the technology for government, business and emergency services.

The Australian Radio Communications Industry Association (ARCIA) is behind the project, which it hopes will include pictures and descriptions of equipment current at that time and since.

The project’s starting point is the Melbourne Olympics held in 1956, where the association believes business radio concepts, manufacturing and innovators pioneered the foundation of the LMR industry.

It was the first Olympic Games to be held in Australia, in fact the first held in the Southern Hemisphere, with 72 nations participating in 145 sporting events.

The year was the beginning of the transistor era and two-way radio was losing its military-only mystique, shrinking in size and being realised by the business community as a useful communications tool.

David Cox is the first contact for anyone with suitable material to contribute to this volume.

“We decided that 1956 was a significant period and the point when land mobile radio came of age in Australia. The 1956 Melbourne Olympics started television and also the games used land mobile radio for the first time for elements of event management,” Cox said.

“The 1956 Olympics was a catalyst for wireless technology in Australia. From this point, a new industry began in Australia designing and manufacturing two-way radios.”

Anyone looking to supply information does not have to be an ARCIA member.

The ARCIA national industry body represents the two-way and associated wireless radio communications industry in Australia. Through implementing varied, industry-specific initiatives, it seeks to raise the profile, importance and awareness of radio communications in Australia.

The association is currently establishing a project team to help gather and write the story. In the meantime, for more information on the project and where to send your stories, please contact David Cox via email at info@arcia.org.au.