Eps. 6 - The Wonder Women of the Wireless

In this episode of "The Station," hosts Gary Newton and Rod McLure take listeners on a journey back to the golden age of radio at 3GL, where a group of extraordinary women ruled the airwaves. Discover how "The Women's Session," a daily program that ran from 9 a.m. to noon, captivated audiences for over four decades, bringing warmth, companionship, and a sense of community into homes across Geelong.

Through interviews with former announcers and historical anecdotes, Gary and Rod explore the lives of these pioneering women who became much more than radio personalities; they were confidantes, mentors, and friends to their listeners. Learn about the innovative programs, charity work, and enduring connections that made these women beloved fixtures in the community.

Tune in for a captivating look at the remarkable women who shaped the legacy of 3GL and the unique charm of the "Women's Session." From nostalgic stories to heartwarming moments, this episode offers a compelling tribute to 'the wonder women of the wireless'.

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Transcript

GARY:  Hello again, I’m Gary Newton.

ROD:    And I’m Rod McLure.

GARY:  And we’re back with Episode 6 of The Station – Remembering 3GL.  This time round we’ll be looking at a group of female announcers who dominated the airwaves on 3GL day after day …

ROD:    Week after week …

GARY:  Year after year – in a program that became known simply as   - The Women’s Session.

ROD:    Each day, Monday to Friday, from 9am until noon, The Women’s Session ruled the airwaves.

GARY:  And it really was a program presented by women for women.

ROD:    Blokes could listen too.

GARY:  And I’m sure a lot did. But that aside, we’ve decided to call this Episode – The Wonder Women of the Wireless. And we’re talking about a group of women who for more than forty years were welcomed into homes near and far as a friend, a confidant … well pretty much as a member of the family.

ROD:    And talking as I did - many moons ago - to a couple those female announcers, there really was a connection between the presenter of the program and the person tuning in.

GARY:  Which is exactly what radio, the wireless, whatever you want to call it … is all about.

ROD:    So, winding back the clock. As we mentioned – I think it was in our first episode – the first female voice heard on 3GL belonged to Dorothy Dungan. Dorothy was at the station when it came on air back in December, 1930. 

GARY:  There was no Women’s Session back then. Dorothy was 3GL’s typist-receptionist who also assisted Bill Simpson – Uncle Bill – with the children’s session. But it wasn’t long before Aunty Dorothy and Uncle Bill were joined by … Aunty Vera, Vera Cartwright.

ROD:    The Children’s Show – which was heard in the late afternoon when the kid’s had finished with school – was a major part of programing in the early days of radio. In fact, right up until television came on the scene.

GARY:  And, for many years, the kid’s show would become a stepping stone for female announcers who wanted to go on and host the women’s session. The Children’s Show, by the way, was not just a bit of a fill in. It had a big audience and it raised lots of money for charity.

ROD:    There was a double page photo spread in the Geelong Advertiser on December 21, 1935. It was taken during the 3GL Children’s Christmas Party at the Geelong Picture theatre. The story said every section of the theatre was filled and huge crowds were waiting outside to get in.

GARY:  A few years later – in October, 1938 – when 3GL had moved to James Street, Old King Cole in his column in the Geelong Advertiser said that … Aunty Vera is now expecting lots more letters because with the new transmitter many more people will be able to listen to 3GL.

Old King Cole went on to say that … Uncle Bill and Aunty Vera are trying to raise money to buy a wireless set for the sick people in the Infectious Diseases Ward who cannot see visitors and get very lonely … but if they had a wireless set, Uncle Bill and Aunty Vera would be able to send them cheerios and make them happy. 

ROD:    Now,  we’re not sure of the exact date when Aunty Vera (Vera Cartwright) took on the role of presenting 3GL’ s morning-women’s session but  by November, 1938 Vera and the Women’s session were rating a mention in the 3GL program which appeared daily in the Geelong Advertiser.

GARY:  But not every day.

ROD:    No, In 1938/39 3GL was still closing down for a few hours after Jack Dickson had finished presenting the breakfast session. The station would close at 9.30 or 10 o’clockish and reopen for “luncheon music” at 1pm.

GARY:  On the days when it closed at 9.30am there was no women’s program but on the days when it stayed open until 10 or 10.15, the women’s session was on air for roughly half-an-hour followed by 15 minutes with Madge Thomas giving a talk on behalf of the Housewives Association. Just going by a quick scan of the Geelong Addy it’s hard to tell which days the women’s session was broadcast and why it was broadcast some days and not others.

ROD:    Just as a little side note – I can’t remember whether it was Reg Gray or Jack Mathews who mentioned it – but they believed Vera had come to Australia from England and had spent some time in Germany.  They said – and this is anecdotal – that Vera had worked at the Geelong Advertiser before joining 3GL and that she left the station during the war years. Jack believe she spent time working at a prisoner of war camp and that her knowledge of the German language may have been put to use.

GARY:  Interesting. So, after the war there were a number of women who rotated through the women’s program. Janet Gay was a name mentioned by Reg Gray and she was followed by Thelma Seaman whose “on-air” name was Annabelle.

ROD:    Yes, and come mid-1949 Annabelle made the move to 3XY in Melbourne. June Hunter (later June Thomas) who had been writing and helping to present the children’s program filled in on the women’s session until a replacement for Annabelle was found.

GARY:  And that replacement was Marjorie Sutton.

ROD:    Marjorie came to the station with quite a deal of radio and theatrical experience. According to the Geelong Advertiser Marjorie had been a prominent member of the Hawthorn Operatic Society for eight years before moving to the professional stage.

GARY:  She then worked at 3HA Hamilton as an announcer and copywriter and in 1940 took on a position with 3SR Shepparton where her charity work raised several thousand pounds. Her next stop was 3TR Sale where she conducted the women’s and children’s sessions and was responsible for creating the Out-back Women’s Club.

ROD:    That’s quite a resume.

GARY:  Yes, the newspaper reported that Marjorie’s husband was the late Captain H. Graham-Sutton of the A.I.F. and said that she had one daughter, Judith Ann.

ROD:    So, on Thursday, July 14, 1949, 120 women listeners to 3GL attended an afternoon tea party at the Metro Inn to welcome Marjorie to Geelong. According to the Advertiser, Marjorie wore a beige coloured woolen frock with pin-tucked bodice and cyclamen belt. Oh, June by the way wore a Gloucester grey tailored suit with a crush white blouse.

GARY:  Hmm. Did we need to know that?

ROD:    The Advertiser thought we did. Oh, and bowls of red berries, vases of poppies and small bowls of heath decorated the room and afternoon tea tables.

GARY:  I really admire your research. Unfortunately, after all of that – or despite all of that – Marjorie’s time at 3GL appears to have been rather short.

ROD:    Yes, and I’m not sure why that was – and I’m sorry my research hasn’t been of much help - but six months later, on December 19, 1949, the Geelong Advertiser was reporting that 3GL women’s announcer – ENA STRACHAN was hostess at an afternoon party at the ABC café in Moorabool Street.

GARY:  And Ena certainly built up quite a following. The Women’s Session became prime time listening. In 1951 the Geelong Advertiser did a feature story on Ena and it made interesting reading.  When the war broke out Ena joined the Australian Women’s Army Service. Her musical talent was soon recognized and she was appointed to the Entertainment Unit and she toured Australia and the islands playing to audiences in army camps.

ROD:    At the end of the war Ena obtained her discharge and joined 3GL as one of the presenters of the children’s program. It appears that Ena and June Hunter (June Thomas) became good friends and as we’ve mentioned when Ena took over the Women’s Session, June wrote and hosted the children’s program.

GARY:  But back to that 1951 article concerning Ena. I think it summed up Ena’s popularity pretty well when it said:

If the readers of this article were granted the gift of omnipresence for a few moments and used it to drop in simultaneously at every house in Geelong and every homestead within a radius of about 60 miles on a week-day after 9am, it would be safe to wager that they would hear only one sound dominating the clatter of dishes in seven kitchens out of ten. And that sound  would be the soothing, contralto voice that is Ena Strachan.

ROD:    The article described Ena as both confidant and adviser and said that when requested her listeners would drop what they were doing to assist in all sorts of ways to help institutions such as the Geelong Hospital.

GARY:  One of the most popular features of the Women’s Session was Ena’s Mailbag. Between 40 and 50 letters were received each week, ranging from a single page to a dozen or more pages.

ROD:    (Imagine how many posts, texts or emails she would have clocked up!)

GARY:  The Addy article went on to say that to strengthen their ties of friendship the listeners had formed themselves into a group known as … the Kitchen Komrads – that’s “Kitchen and Komrads” spelt with a “K.” For the sake of brevity they called themselves, The K.K.’s.

ROD:    As well as raising money and providing all sorts of goods for charity, the K.K.’s had meetings and outings where they got to know each other personally and, of course, met up with Ena.

GARY:  From these small beginnings, the 3GL K.K.’s Hospital Auxiliary was established. The Auxiliary had a special interest in the maternity ward and held a monthly appeal for some commodity that was in short supply at the hospital.

GARY:  The Advertiser said that Ena was surprisingly unaffected by the glare of publicity. It described Ena as being … “rather above average height, slim and long boned.” It also stated that Ena was born in Geelong and that her mother and aunt were the last proprietors of Mack’s Hotel. 

ROD:    Before her radio career Ena had been a member of the Geelong Musical Comedy Company. She then joined J.C. Williamson’s Gilbert and Sullivan Company where she toured most of Australia and New Zealand.

GARY:  Ena believed that the women’s session was by far the most important feature of the 3GL daily program. She was quoted as saying:

“It makes lonely people forget their loneliness, cheers those who are ill and bedridden and brings friendliness and goodwill to all listeners.”

ROD:    Phew, let’s raise a Nature’s Cuppa to Ena – what a woman. 

GARY:   Okay, we can’t give a rundown of all the women who, like Ena, brought joy and entertainment into the lives of their listeners … people like Judy Bateman, Claire Kincade, Suzanne Lucas. But there were two women who you spoke to, yes back in 1990 when the on again off again story of 3GL was still playing on your conscience. And those women of course were, June (Hunter) Thomas and Martha (Mitchell) Fleet.

ROD:    Yep, June and Martha. They were both very generous with their time. Just quickly though, when I started at 3GL in 1963, fresh out of high school and only 16 years old, Suzanne Lucas was presenting the Women’s Session and it was my job to get together all the national commercials and serials that were sent to the station on disc and take them up to the studio for each announcer’s session. On this occasion I walked through the two doors into the studio and Suzanne was enjoying a little breather while a serial was playing. All went well until I bumped the console and sent the needle scooting across two episodes. “If looks could kill” as they say … but no expletives were uttered. Suzanne merely turned down the fader, picked up the needle and plonked it a few revolutions from where it had been. After that I was very careful when I entered the studio.

GARY:  So, I gather it was – appropriately – June, 1990 when you interviewed June in her home at Portarlington.

Yes, I drove across from Ocean Grove where I was living at the time. June and her husband George were living on a 10 acre property near the golf course. Before that they had been living at St.Leonards. June was very well prepared. She had put some notes together and had some photo albums for us to look through.

GARY:  Now, I gather June had attended the Hermitage and Geelong High School and she applied for a job at the Geelong Advertiser in 1946 or 1947?

ROD:    Yes, she said she wanted to be a journalist or a writer and felt fortunate to get the job at the Addy because, in June’s words, “fellows were coming home from the war and jobs for women were pretty hard to come by.”

GARY:  You were telling me that June worked on the switchboard and she used to see Reg Gray when he came across from 3GL for meetings.

ROD:    Yes, and Reg and June did know each other because as a child and teenager June had been a regular at entering competitions at the station. Anyway, one day Reg asked June if she would be interested in moving across to 3GL.

GARY:  And June jumped at the chance?

ROD:    She did. She started in the front office and spent a little time in the record library. One day Reg said to her “… you like writing, would you like to have a go at being a copywriter – writing commercials.”

GARY:  And that led to June writing serials for the children’s program. I gather they used to bring kids in to act out the serials on air. You were telling me June said Saturday mornings were interesting.

Well, according to June – and these are her words – mums would drop off “their little darlings” while they went and did their shopping. June said the kids would all be sitting on the carpet and they would have a sing-a-long straight to air. After that they all poured down the stairs like a herd of elephants and went to the pictures.

GARY:  There was an article June showed you that appeared in the Listener Inn newspaper in November, 1949. It stated that – and I’m quoting from the article - “… Since Ena Strachan has been appointed senior women’s announcer at 3GL, June Hunter has taken over the Children’s Session and is doing excellent work.”

ROD:    Yes, June really enjoyed her involvement with the children’s program – not only presenting the show but writing stories and plays for the kids to perform. 

GARY:  She also used to fill in on the women’s session when Annabelle or Ena went on holidays and she proved to be more than capable as this writer to the Listener Inn was quick to point out:

“A big bunch of orchids to June Hunter of 3GL for her capable handling of the women’s session during Annabelle’s absence. Congratulations June and best wishes for the future. An appreciative listener, Geelong West.”

ROD:    June’s first stint at 3GL was from around 1947 to mid-1953 when her first child, Andrew was born. June did however keep her hand in by continuing to fill in when people were sick or on holidays. 

GARY:  Okay then, we’ll return to June’s story when she made a comeback to the station in the late 1960’s. But for now, how about you give us an insight into your chat with Martha. I gather that sort of came about by accident?

ROD:    Well, yes, we bumped into each other at the Rheingold Restaurant during a night organized by the Geelong Cheese Club. I probably hadn’t seen Martha for around 20 years. I explained that I was trying/hoping to put together a history of 3GL and asked if we could catch up for a chat. 

GARY:  And you caught up, I gather, on Friday, July the 13th.

ROD:    Yeah, how lucky was that?

GARY:  Now, this was 1990 and Martha was writing a weekly cooking column for the Geelong Advertiser?

ROD:    Yes, we caught up at her home in Newtown, down by the river. It was a little after 5 o’clock and we sat in the kitchen and talked over a cup of coffee.

GARY:  It was interesting to hear that Martha’s father had been in radio. She told you he was one half of a popular children’s program on 3KZ that went under the name of Roly and Roy?

ROD:    I’m not sure when that was exactly. Martha did say that her father contracted polio when he was at Wesley College in Melbourne and that he did his matriculation in hospital. When he recovered he went on to get a law degree but instead of pursuing a legal career he headed off to London to become an actor.

GARY:  So, he returned to Australia, got a job in radio and married Martha’s mother?

ROD:    Yes, Martha told me he got a job at the ABC and did short wave broadcasts into Asia. She said that after the war he joined the diplomatic services and was asked to be the news and information officer in Singapore.

GARY:  So, how old was Martha? Did she go to Singapore?

ROD:    She said she was around four or five and yes, she was in Singapore for around 3 years. At that time, not long after the war, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. On her return to Australia Martha attended  Ruyton Girl’s Grammar School in Kew and when her parents went overseas again she boarded there for around five years.

GARY:  I understand she became friends with someone who would go on to be quite famous.

ROD:    Martha said she got involved in a lot of theatre and sang Madrigals.

GARY:  Madrigals?

ROD:    According to my pocket Oxford dictionary … a madrigal is a short lyric poem which can be set to music. It dates back to renaissance times and is generally for five to six voices without musical accompaniment.

GARY:  And who was the famous person we’re referring to?

ROD:    She went by the name of Judith Durham.

GARY:  The Seeker’s Judith Durham?

ROD:    Yes, she and Martha became good friends. Martha did say – with a smile – that back then, she used to get the solos. Judith didn’t.

GARY:  Okay, from what you’ve told me, Martha left school and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She went to RMIT and did shorthand and typing but – perhaps influenced by her father’s background – she also attended the Vincent School of Broadcasting which was run by Bill Roberts, who happened to be a friend of Reg Gray.

ROD:    Sliding doors as they say. Bill Roberts informed Martha that there was a copy writing job going at 3GL. He knew Martha could string a few words together, an interview was arranged and Martha got the job.

GARY:  So, when Martha joined the station, Claire Kincaid was presenting the Women’s Session and she was also doing the children’s show and according to Martha, Claire did not enjoy the kid’s show.

ROD:    Martha said, “Claire hated it.” She approached Reg Gray and asked if she could do the children’s show.  Reg told Martha she had too much of a “shooshy” sound. To which Martha replied, “If I get rid of the shoosh, can I do it?” Reg said he would think about it.

GARY:  I gather Martha got rid of the shoosh, Reg thought about it and Martha wound up on air dong the kid’s show – which she really enjoyed.

ROD:    Yes, she was still working in the copy department and was allowed to take an hour off to go on air during the afternoon. 

GARY:  But, bigger things lay ahead.

ROD:    Well, Martha said that Claire Kincaid got married and Judy Bateman – who was a member of the Geelong Repertory Society – took over. Martha thought that Claire may have come back for a time before Suzanne Lucas arrived and became the presenter of the Women’s Session.

GARY:  Martha also got married in 1962.

ROD:    Yes, and she thought it was around 1965 when Suzanne Lucas left the station. Not long after - to Martha’s surprise - Reg asked Martha to go up into the studio and read a few commercials live to air. Martha didn’t know that Reg had the directors from the Geelong Advertiser in his office. They obviously liked what they heard and Martha landed the job presenting the women’s session.

GARY:  Martha presented the program for more than three years – and there was a lot more to it than just sitting behind the microphone.

ROD:    Martha – like June – used to visit clients, collect their advertising and write up their commercials. And, like June, she often got into trouble for ad-libbing and turning a 30 second ad into something much longer. No surprise that clients often requested Martha to read their ads live to air, rather than have them recorded.

GARY:  Presenting the Women’s Session live to air was fun but challenging. To quote Martha,:

“You had to be so versatile. You would be listening to the news from 3DB in your headphones – (3GL used to take the national news on relay from 3DB) – at the same time you might be waiting to cross to the races, there’d be Jack Mathews in the control room getting a tape ready, you’d be reading a live commercial and at the same time cueing up your next record. Your mind would be going in all directions.”

ROD:    For both Martha and June the studio was at times a revolving door of people coming and going for interviews. Advertisers often paid for a 15 minutes segment where the music was interspersed with the client chatting about their business. Martha recalled Len Smith from Homecrafts saying that whenever he came in and advertised something on the program he had trouble keeping up with the demand.

GARY:  Martha also made regular trips to Melbourne to interview visiting performers, politicians and sports stars … including her old school mate, Judith Durham. Winter & Taylor sponsored the interviews and provided Martha with a car to make the round trip.

ROD:    It seemed to be a common thread through the women’s session – no matter who the presenter was – people enjoyed listening because as Martha said: “It was like having a friend in the kitchen talking to them.” Looking back, Martha said she had no regrets. She stopped work to have her family. “I didn’t really want to give up work,” said Martha. “I loved radio.”

GARY:  So, one door closes and another opens and who should walk through that door? None other than June Thomas. Yes, June returned and continued to present the women’s session  until 1979 when 3GL went through something of a transformation in the way it was programmed.

ROD:    In the meantime, the Women’s Show rolled on with June meeting and greeting people in the studio and on outdoor broadcasts.

GARY:  I believe she had an interesting experience when the submarine HMS Oxley visited Geelong.

ROD:    Yes, apparently when the Oxley cruised into Corio Bay and the crew picked up 3GL on the radio, they were keen to meet up with June. A broadcast from the sub was arranged and June, along with breakfast announcer, John Mason went down for a visit. June recalled, and these are her words “ … the crew were a hoot, they had beautiful Scottish accents but nobody told me not to wear a skirt on a sub, did they?” Ooops.

GARY:  And June also got to see a bit of the world thanks to Reg Priestly of Reg Priestly Travel.

ROD:    That’s right. Priestly Travel sponsored a segment during the Women’s Session and so as June could talk from personal experience she was treated to trips to New Zealand, South East Asia and South Africa.

GARY:  And of course the 3GL Kitchener’s Klub Hospital Auxiliary was still going strong.

ROD:    And one of the regular fund raisers that the Auxiliary did for the Geelong Hospital was to produce the 3GL Recipe Book.

GARY:  The first few pages always made interesting reading as they featured recipes from some of the 3GL staff. I’m not sure what year these examples were taken from but David Coburn provided a recipe for Chicken and Almonds, Graeme Walton for Pavlova and Barry Casey … Pineapple shortcake dessert.

ROD:    And we should point out … all recipes were K.K. Tested.

GARY:  June continued to present the women’s session until Reg Gray retired in 1977. Under the new manager, Terry Tayler, 3GL aimed to attract a younger, more contemporary audience. The Women’s session was eventually axed and June said she really didn’t know where she was heading. She spoke to the management and accepted a marketing/advertising roll with the Geelong Advertiser. So, June started at the Addy and finished at the Addy.

ROD:    Yes, but it was her time at 3GL that made June a household name. From first broadcast to last, it would appear that the uniqueness of the Women’s Session never changed.  It was a friendly, funny, chatty, informative program that -“contradictory” as it may sound - gave people the chance to escape without having to leave their home.

GARY:  So, to all the wonder women of the wireless who graced the airwaves of 3GL, a big “thank-you.”  Next time on The Station – Remembering 3GL we thought we might take a look at a person who joined the station in the fifties and was there pretty much to the end.

ROD:    His name was David Coburn.