612 ABC Brisbane - History

History

Radio broadcasting began in Brisbane in 1925 when the Government of Queensland commenced its own broadcasting operations with the callsign 4QG - 4 denoted the state of Queensland; QG stood for Queensland Government. 4QG became a part of the ABC's radio network at its inception in 1932.

The ABC started a second Brisbane station on 7 January 1938, using the callsign 4QR. The new station carried national programming--the forerunner of Radio National--while 4QG aired mainly local content. In 1963, the two stations quietly switched schedules, with 4QR becoming the local outlet for Brisbane while 4QG picked up the national schedule. 4QG now operates under the callsign 4RN, in common with all other Radio National services in Queensland.

Until December 2006, 612 ABC Brisbane's studios were located on Coronation Drive in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Toowong (a location severely damaged by water in the 1974 Brisbane floods).

A number of breast cancer cases at the ABC's Toowong studios led to the permanent evacuation of the entire site in December, 2006. 350 staff, from ABC television, radio and online, were relocated. For the next five years, the station broadcast from the ABC's Gold Coast studios. In January 2012, 612 moved to a newly-built facility in South Bank.

In September 2006, 612 ABC Brisbane was "host radio broadcaster" for naturalist Steve Irwin's memorial service at Australia Zoo, Beerwah. Breakfast announcers Spencer Howson (from 612 ABC Brisbane) and John Stokes (from the ABC's Sunshine Coast station Coast FM) were chosen to host the broadcast, made available to radio stations around the world.