The official Waiheke Radio launch has been set for Labour Weekend, Sat 25 October. Right now we are busy training volunteers and developing shows and content. Over the coming weeks you will hear more and more great radio shows introduced to our schedule.

Already you can hear the Blackpool Boys, Bill and Trevor, present their folk show, Country Meets Celtic, on Mondays nights at 8pm. They're followed at 9pm by Noise Music Noise, hard-edged rock and interviews with local musicans presented by Bede Taylor. On Wednesdays at 8pm and Saturday at 3pm listen out for Counting The Beat, featuring NZ music obscurities, rarities and new releases.

As well as locally produced shows we are also broadcasting Upload, a NZ music and current issues show on Saturdays at 2pm and Mondays at 7pm, and Te Puutake, a youth show featuring interviews with top Māori and Pacific sportspeople, achievers and artists, talking about today's hot topics, on Tuesdays at 4pm and Thursdays at 7pm.

Keep tuned to 88.3 or 107.4 as more shows are being introduced all the time.  A schedule will be posted on this site very soon.

If you would like to play a role in community radio you're invited to an open-day at Waiheke Radio this Saturday 9 August between 9am – 2pm.

We're holding the day to give people the opportunity to discuss ideas for radio shows and content and learn what is involved with participating in the radio station. You'll also be able to get behind the microphone and to try out the station equipment.

Lots of groups and people from the community have already come forward with ideas for radio shows. A wide range of ideas have been proposed including sport, local politics, drama, satire and music. We are planning a very broad programme so anyone with an idea or interest in radio should come along for a chat on Saturday.

The station is currently broadcasting music on 88.3 and 107.4fm. The introduction of live shows and local content will begin as soon as show ideas are developed and volunteers can be trained.

Waiheke Radio is back on air following the toppling of one of our transmission aerials in the big storm of Saturday 26 July. While re-erecting the pole we took the opportunity to tweak the signal a little. Those listening in on 88.3fm (Ostend, Onetangi, Palm Beach) should notice a real improvement.

We are currently seeking donations towards the purchase of digital signal transfer equipemnt that will help improve the signal qaulity even further. If you can help with this please contact us.

Waiheke Radio will make its first live broadcast on Saturday 28 June from 7am to noon. The station is hosting The Classic Gold Breakfast, a nationally networked Saturday morning breakfast show that will be heard from Auckland to Invercargill.

The Classic Gold Breakfast is fronted by veteran broadcaster, Chris Diack who will be visiting the island and working with the Waiheke Radio to broadcast his breakfast show our studio. The show will feature a number of local people, including students from Waiheke Primary School.

We've been working on establishment of a studio and transmission equipment for a number of months but the pace of work has picked up in recent weeks following our successful fundraisers. It's really exciting to be at the point of making our first live broadcast.

The station can be heard on 107.4fm in Oneroa, Blackpool and parts of Surfdale, while those in Onetangi, Ostend, Palm Beach, and the remainder of Surfdale should tune into 88.3fm.

Almost universal praise of the first Waiheke Radio fundraiser show has given us something to live up to as far as future gigs go; which after the overwhelming success of this one we are already starting to think about. The all local lineup was spectacular with the debut of Three Legged Horse on the island  showcasing some true local talent with Bede "T-Bone" Taylors lyrical craftsmanship, backed by Aaron Carpenters arrangements and vocalist Gina Higham (also from Swoon). Following on from that the spectacle of The Homewreckers launched into possibly the first ever all female pro-wrestling dirty rock and roll show this side of Las Vegas. Truly something that had to be seen to be believed. Rounding it all off was the spunky punk sylings of local party band SWOON who got the packed crowd dancing to their popular numbers.

Many thanks to all in the audience who showed up that night, bought sausages, and drank beer - all for a great cause, local radio!

Special thanks to Artworks Theatre, Village Butchery, Copy Expresso, Waiheke Wine Centre, Adjadz, Gulf News, Dale Weingott, Sophie-Jo and friend, Jason McGyver, Zach, Bianca Sanders, MC Eledir Serin, all the Waiheke Radio volunteers and family, and especially Simon Mansfield and Michelle Barber for organizing a lot of the evenings events.

You can see some pics of the night here.

The Waiheke Community Radio Trust is very disappointed that an island radio frequency auctioned by the government’s Radio Spectrum Management Group has been purchased by an off-island group.

WCRT attended the auction and was bidding on the frequency which eventually sold for $380000, putting it well out of our reach. The successful bidder was World TV Limited, a company that runs a number of Asian language TV and radio stations.

The $380000 paid for the frequency was the second highest sum paid for any frequency in the country in this auction round. The last Waiheke Island frequency auctioned, in 2003, also went for a very large sum, $378000. The effect of the high prices paid is that Waiheke interests are priced out of the market as there is not sufficient population to support either a commercial or non-commercial operation that had to recover such an amount.

The problem arises because the Radio Spectrum Management Group regard Waiheke as part of the Auckland radio market. Island frequencies attract high sums at auction because Auckland radio frequencies are hard to come by and a Waiheke based signal can be broadcast to parts of the city that are highly sought after. The problem for potential Waiheke broadcasters is that the only places you can broadcast to Waiheke from are the island itself and the Sky Tower where frequencies go for close to one million dollars, but because these licenses are picked up by players in the Auckland market Waiheke misses out.

Waiheke Community Radio Trust have volunteers with the technical ability to ensure that our low powered station will provide a clear signal to those living from Oneroa to Onetangi despite the challenges posed by the island’s hilly terrain. We are currently broadcasting a test signal to Oneroa and Blackpool on 106.7fm and will soon have a second transmitter covering Surfdale, Ostend, Palm Beach and Onetangi. While we can broadcast effectively on low powered FM, ultimately we would like to be able to broadcast a full powered signal to the island. We are disappointed that the two full power radio licenses operating from Waiheke are utilised by groups with no connection to, or interest in, our local community.

The Radio Trust is also taking up the issue as a political battle and are planning to approach the government and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to make the case for the allocation of a non-commercial radio license to be operated by a Waiheke broadcaster.

Continuing on with our fundraising push ... this Friday be sure to check out the Waiheke Premiere of I'm Not There a 2007 biographical film inspired by the life of iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It depicts six distinct stages of Dylan's life and public persona portrayed by an ensemble cast of actors: Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Cate Blanchett, who play characters based on Dylan but with different names. Film starts at 8:30 at the Waiheke Cinema in Artworks. Tickets available at Island Designs or on the door but be warned the theatre only seats 50 so grabbing a ticket beforehand may be advised.