Kevin Hands Remembers AWA - Rediffusion
© rediffusion.info 2011
On arrival in Australia October 1972, I was employed by AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia) mainly because AWA R a subsidiary was just starting up (I think they had been operating for just under a year) and I believe did not have enough space as they occupied a small corner on the end of the AWA building in Talavera Road, North Ryde.
Their staff at this time was Bob McCallum General Manager plus secretary, Sales Manager "?", Peter Murphy Administrator, Bob Murray Technician, and Ian Kirk Apprentice.
I believe at this time the laws in Australia did not allow cables to be erected between different premises. So the only HF systems were going to be in individual buildings, The first one I got involved with was the Sydney Opera House (a big job this) almost as big as a large suburb. AWA R supplied all the equipment and we AWA installed it, it took around all of 1973 to commission.
Being attached to AWA, I got put to good use in other work that was happening at the same time, ie the AUDIO AND ACOUSTICS system (another massive undertaking) --- in an Opera house no less. It may not be there now but it did work when we left.
Another Fairly large job was Macquarie University. This was a mixture of HF and Video systems. Very complicated switching etc. but once again a success. Many small jobs came and went and I eventually found myself employed by AWA R. (sometime in late 1973)
We started to do CCTV work in amongst other things, (Bob McCallum had a trip to Japan and secured the dealership for Hitachi Cameras) and it soon became obvious this was going to be the big money maker although we never gave up on systems as such, they just became different systems. By now, mid 70s we had taken on a few more employees and we were expanding quite fast so we had to leave North Ryde and open the Roseville Branch, Eastern Valley Way, which was mammoth in comparison to what we did have.
We still kept in close relationship with the Mother Company as Computer Generated Information Systems began to take over in places like our Racecourses, Randwick, Rosehill, Canterbury, and Warwick farm. Then of course the Railways got involved in CGIS with arrivals and departure information and then the big one, the Airlines, Qantas, Ansett, TAA. These were massive jobs with AWA supplying the Heart of the system then handing over a clean video signal to us which we reticulated in the form of HF and/or video networks to every nook and cranny we could find, supplying all the TVs and/or Monitors as required and then maintaining there after. We were still adding on to these systems into the early 1980s.
Can you imagine the extra staff we had to take on as we were doing other jobs as well, such as the annual Bathurst 500, now called 1000 (car race), Channel Sevens "This is your life" when they were on location some where else. Channel Sevens studio Epping. HMAS Tobruk, CHOGMs in Melbourne. North West shelf Oil off the WA coast (supply only), we were giving Queensland and Victoria a helping hand when required and others far too numerous to mention in this article plus my memory may not handle it.
The Engineering staff (headed by Keith Thomas and aided by David Cassidy) even found time to design, draft and install an Outside Broadcast Van for ABC Television. I had become Project Controller by then.
We also won contracts in our own write to install the CCTV security systems in to the Airports Both Domestic and International. Which kept on growing right into the mid 1980s.
.
While all this was going on AWA-R got involved with Hitachi colour cameras and studio cameras with switching equipment plus the starting up of Redihire outlets. The Roseville building was bursting at the seams.
We also formed associations with other large companies such as Wormald who had just won a contract with the RTA (Roads & Traffic Authority) to install security systems and CCTV on the Harbour Bridge and approaches. I'm not sure of the contract details but we ended up supplying and installing the CCTV system without having to providethe cabling, and there was miles upon miles of it. This job seamed never ending. It was supposed to cure all the traffic snarls and problems in the early 1980s, well it may have done for a while but today is a different story. At least now they can see where the traffic snarls are "live". At the same time we were installing an HF system for the Sydney Futures Exchange.
Somewhere around this time Bob McCallum our General Manager left to join the mother company (AWA). His place was taken by Howard Paul which was excellent while it lasted but he later returned to England.
Michael Andrews took over as G.M. With Peter Rolston as N.M.M. and I changed my stripes and joined sales, later to become State Manager. We thrived for a while. Even helping out in sponsoring the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race a couple of times. During this time, the early 80s AWA was quite active in the financial market and a lot of mergers and takeovers took place (business's that had very little to do with electronics or systems) became part of the AWA empire and so all the subsidiaries were covered by the same blanket and financial commitments. After awhile our technicians were leaving and not being replaced.
Peter and Michael went off to greener pastures and were replaced by managers who had worked in totally different environment's and possibly did not understand the needs of systems people, eventually for many and varied reasons it became impossible for me to stay so I left sometime in late 1986 or early 87 .
Some time after I left, AWA-R moved to smaller premises in St Leonards, then eventually back to AWA North Ryde under the wing of the Mother Company which by then had moved into new premises but still in Talavera Rd. This was around 1988. Over the following two years or so staff just moved on to other companies and it faded away, I've been unable to find anyone who can put a definite finger on it.
So, Between Rediffusion and AWA Rediffusion they got almost 26yrs of my life, and I enjoyed it immensely.
Their staff at this time was Bob McCallum General Manager plus secretary, Sales Manager "?", Peter Murphy Administrator, Bob Murray Technician, and Ian Kirk Apprentice.
I believe at this time the laws in Australia did not allow cables to be erected between different premises. So the only HF systems were going to be in individual buildings, The first one I got involved with was the Sydney Opera House (a big job this) almost as big as a large suburb. AWA R supplied all the equipment and we AWA installed it, it took around all of 1973 to commission.
Being attached to AWA, I got put to good use in other work that was happening at the same time, ie the AUDIO AND ACOUSTICS system (another massive undertaking) --- in an Opera house no less. It may not be there now but it did work when we left.
Another Fairly large job was Macquarie University. This was a mixture of HF and Video systems. Very complicated switching etc. but once again a success. Many small jobs came and went and I eventually found myself employed by AWA R. (sometime in late 1973)
We started to do CCTV work in amongst other things, (Bob McCallum had a trip to Japan and secured the dealership for Hitachi Cameras) and it soon became obvious this was going to be the big money maker although we never gave up on systems as such, they just became different systems. By now, mid 70s we had taken on a few more employees and we were expanding quite fast so we had to leave North Ryde and open the Roseville Branch, Eastern Valley Way, which was mammoth in comparison to what we did have.
We still kept in close relationship with the Mother Company as Computer Generated Information Systems began to take over in places like our Racecourses, Randwick, Rosehill, Canterbury, and Warwick farm. Then of course the Railways got involved in CGIS with arrivals and departure information and then the big one, the Airlines, Qantas, Ansett, TAA. These were massive jobs with AWA supplying the Heart of the system then handing over a clean video signal to us which we reticulated in the form of HF and/or video networks to every nook and cranny we could find, supplying all the TVs and/or Monitors as required and then maintaining there after. We were still adding on to these systems into the early 1980s.
Can you imagine the extra staff we had to take on as we were doing other jobs as well, such as the annual Bathurst 500, now called 1000 (car race), Channel Sevens "This is your life" when they were on location some where else. Channel Sevens studio Epping. HMAS Tobruk, CHOGMs in Melbourne. North West shelf Oil off the WA coast (supply only), we were giving Queensland and Victoria a helping hand when required and others far too numerous to mention in this article plus my memory may not handle it.
The Engineering staff (headed by Keith Thomas and aided by David Cassidy) even found time to design, draft and install an Outside Broadcast Van for ABC Television. I had become Project Controller by then.
We also won contracts in our own write to install the CCTV security systems in to the Airports Both Domestic and International. Which kept on growing right into the mid 1980s.
.
While all this was going on AWA-R got involved with Hitachi colour cameras and studio cameras with switching equipment plus the starting up of Redihire outlets. The Roseville building was bursting at the seams.
We also formed associations with other large companies such as Wormald who had just won a contract with the RTA (Roads & Traffic Authority) to install security systems and CCTV on the Harbour Bridge and approaches. I'm not sure of the contract details but we ended up supplying and installing the CCTV system without having to providethe cabling, and there was miles upon miles of it. This job seamed never ending. It was supposed to cure all the traffic snarls and problems in the early 1980s, well it may have done for a while but today is a different story. At least now they can see where the traffic snarls are "live". At the same time we were installing an HF system for the Sydney Futures Exchange.
Somewhere around this time Bob McCallum our General Manager left to join the mother company (AWA). His place was taken by Howard Paul which was excellent while it lasted but he later returned to England.
Michael Andrews took over as G.M. With Peter Rolston as N.M.M. and I changed my stripes and joined sales, later to become State Manager. We thrived for a while. Even helping out in sponsoring the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race a couple of times. During this time, the early 80s AWA was quite active in the financial market and a lot of mergers and takeovers took place (business's that had very little to do with electronics or systems) became part of the AWA empire and so all the subsidiaries were covered by the same blanket and financial commitments. After awhile our technicians were leaving and not being replaced.
Peter and Michael went off to greener pastures and were replaced by managers who had worked in totally different environment's and possibly did not understand the needs of systems people, eventually for many and varied reasons it became impossible for me to stay so I left sometime in late 1986 or early 87 .
Some time after I left, AWA-R moved to smaller premises in St Leonards, then eventually back to AWA North Ryde under the wing of the Mother Company which by then had moved into new premises but still in Talavera Rd. This was around 1988. Over the following two years or so staff just moved on to other companies and it faded away, I've been unable to find anyone who can put a definite finger on it.
So, Between Rediffusion and AWA Rediffusion they got almost 26yrs of my life, and I enjoyed it immensely.