Darwin’s Territory FM turns 40

Darwin’s Territory FM will turn 40 over the weekend after first going to air at 5pm on June 5 in 1981.

The station was then known as 8CAR-FM and was the first hi-fi stereo station in the Northern Territory capital.

The first voices head on air were Patrick Harding and David Christion, while the first track to get a spin was Horst Jankowski’s ‘A Walk In The Forest’.

Station manager Matt Bern said there’s so much history between the station’s walls.

“It was a crazy, ramshackle all-sorts station in those early days,” he said. “We operated from a demountable, on a shoestring budget, with a borrowed transmitter.”

The community station now broadcasts a ‘greatest hits’ format as well as simulcasting Nine News Darwin and playing content in different languages and offering multicultural support.

“We’ve come a long way, and we’ve emerged as one of the most successful community radio stations in Australia in terms of sustainability and longevity,” Bern added.

“Our team is extremely proud of this milestone, but it’s also a wonderful achievement for our community.”