On Monday, 21st November 1966 Radio Hauraki started test transmission, anchored in the Hauraki Gulf outside the three-mile territorial waters, on 1480AM "Radio Hauraki, Top Of The Dial". It was the beginning of commercial radio in this country.
2006 marks the 40th anniversary of Radio Hauraki first going to air. It was New Zealand's first pirate radio station. In the mid '70s Hauraki became the only pirate radio station to be granted a private land licence and effectively broke the State monopoly on the airwaves.
David Gapes was one of the instigators of Hauraki who literally took the 'system' on and spearheaded the birth of commercial radio in this country. Before then there was a radio wasteland made up of horse races, rugby, Aunt Daisy, Doctor Paul and not a lot else. Later, as the manager of Hello Sailor, David Gapes dared to take the Kiwi band to California to try and realise their international potential with a groundbreaking deal.
One of the downsides to trailblazing is that it doesn't always pan out, but what is often overlooked is the contribution and cumulative effect that these trailblazing adventures have on future generations.
Radio Hauraki is still here and so is Hello Sailor. David Gapes made a substantial contribution to both.
 Can you remember when and who took this photo? It was taken by John Monks, in 1967 or '68.
Where was it taken and what were you doing then?
It looks like us gloomily contemplating the latest mad demands from the Marine Department in 1968. That's the Tiri II in the foreground, probably at the Lighter Basin (now known as Auckland's Viaduct).
Our attempts to get a seaworthiness certificate for the Tiri were frustrated three times by grim-faced marine inspectors crawling all over her, looking for reasons for a refusal. The first two times we made the repairs the inspectors demanded - but the follow-up inspection always found new (utterly insignificant) 'problems'.
At that point, we said "Stuff it", accepted an (unofficial) seaworthiness certificate from our own adviser renowned salvage expert Captain Warwick Dunsford, and headed for the Gulf.
It later emerged in court that the inspectors were following political instructions that they should play for time and, under no circumstances, should the Tiri be granted the certification. They were acting under instructions from the Minister of Marine, Jack Scott, who also just happened to be Postmaster General (the Post Office was at the time the licensing authority for all radio stations). The court found Scott had abused his Marine powers to achieve a radio licensing objective.
How were you and the others involved together?
I'm pretty sure the guy looking at Magan is technician Allan Jamieson (but it could also be Dick Fahey, the land-based guy who looked after our supply lines to the Tiri).
Derek Lowe (Zane's Dad) and I were two of the four founders. The four of us got together after reporter Adrian Blackburn broke the story in the Herald (in 1966) about plans by engineer Doc O'Callahan and I to start a pirate station. Derek (at the time a freelancer selling and producing flash recorded ads for provincial state radio stations) and NZBC studio technician Chris Parkinson, who'd been hatching a similar plot of their own, contacted us. We met, liked what we saw, and agreed to merge.
When the news broke, we were immediately contacted by a dozen or so frustrated NZBC radio types - announcers (as the NZBC called them) and technicians. One of these was Wanganui-based announcer Ian Magan, who didn't even phone. He just hopped in his Vauxhall Velox - the one in the photo - and drove to Auckland where we immediately signed him up.
What are the people pictured doing now?
Ian Magan is still a concert promoter, perhaps best known for his work with Split Enz. Don't know what became of Allan or Dick. Derek Lowe left Hauraki in the late '70s to become a taxi driver, then later became a major shareholder in Radio Pacific, which he managed until his retirement in 2004.
Can you give us a rundown on your life and career journey since the photo was taken?
I left Hauraki in the mid-'70s, becoming Hello Sailor's manager. I worked for the band for two years, which included the first two Hello Sailor albums, two nationwide NZ tours (including all the small towns) and the band's six-month working tour to California. After that I had a scrape with the drug laws which saw me removed from circulation for a short but very instructive time.
After that I returned to my trade - journalism. I worked at Barrie Everard's 89fm as news editor for a year or two, then joined the Auckland Star as a reporter, eventually rising to the giddy height of Entertainment Editor (where I mentored such characters as Russell Baillie and Oscar Kightley). The Star was an exciting place to work then, and I loved both these jobs.
For the past decade, I've been working at business-to-business publisher Profile, first as editor of NZ film industry monthly Onfilm, and for the past five years as editor of the ad industry monthly AdMedia. Strangely, I've grown fond of the advertising business - real people in a real business trading in real money, quite unlike the government handouts that rule the movie biz.
What are your recollections of the radio scene back when Hauraki started?
Unless you were a fan of shopping reporters, early radio soaps and horse racing, radio was pretty dire up to the mid-'60s. Bugger all pop or rock music. Radio, in short, was bloody awful. All plummy non-Kiwi accents, horrible ads and no music.
Myself, and all of those who became involved with Hauraki, were driven by our distaste for State radio, our love of rock'n'roll and a yearning for adventure. Our aim was to bring the music on, 24 hours a day.
Which of your many achievements do you now consider to be the most significant?
Playing an early role in the 'arrival' of Kiwi music on the airwaves and beating the political system to launch Hauraki, which was the beginning of the end of the State in business. My biggest regret was not seeing Hello Sailor - the best NZ band ever, in my opinion - achieve what they should have in the US.
Why didn't it happen for them in the States?
We went over August 27, 1978. The club scene in Hollywood was very similar to the rock-pub scene in Auckland in the '80s. Four or five clubs (bars with a stage), a mecca for unsigned bands from all over the US looking to show their stuff to the record company talent spotters who hung around the same clubs. The main clubs were the Starwood, the Whisky, the Roxy and Troubador. There were also a couple of cool, hippy-type clubs out at the LA beaches which were fun places to play.
In the same way a band from, say, Hamilton, would come to Auckland to perform and look for a deal, in Hollywood you scored your first gig (no money but free beers), then moved on to the next one (similar deal). You'd keep this up 'til you'd played all four venues several times - at which point, you've hopefully picked up a bit of a following, and the record guys were starting to take notice. A following also earned you some bucks from the club owners, because that meant more punters.
Unlike the Auckland bars, however, most of the LA clubs had their own sound systems, which meant you had to educate the operator. I remember Hello Sailor's first gig at the Troubador - it was a bloody nightmare. The sound guy didn't know the songs and kept fading the sound and the lights at all the wrong places. Fortunately, it was a Monday night (reserved for new arrivals) and the place was pretty empty - except for a bunch of poncey city-cowboy types in stetsons, boots and string ties, jeering and bellowing colourful and uncomplimentary jibes at leather-clad Graham.
After the sound guy got to know the music he was brilliant - showcasing the band in all the right ways. By then, the Sailors had graduated to the big Friday and Saturday night gigs, with crowds of heaving, bopping teenagers and much bad behaviour. No more sneers for Graham!
After six months in town, the Sailors had built a significant following, and the record companies were sniffing around. Sadly, our cash reserves were running out and the band flagged it and returned to Godzone. A few more weeks, or even days, and the story could've had a very different ending...
What's currently on your own playlist?
Lucinda Williams' 'Essence', and Hello Sailor's new acoustic album, 'When Your Lights Are Out'.
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Radio Hauraki there is a free exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Auckland from November 11 until February 11. The exhibition highlights an important part of New Zealand's broadcasting, maritime and social history.
|
