About Triple M Riverina

Triple M Riverina

Triple M Riverina is a commercial AM radio station serving Wagga Wagga and the Riverina region of New South Wales. Broadcasting on 1152 kHz under the heritage call sign 2WG, it is owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Triple M network. The station celebrated 90 years on air in 2022, making it one of Australia's oldest continuously operating regional broadcasters — "The Voice of the Riverina" since 29 June 1932.

Overview

The station is licensed to Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and transmits on 1152 kHz on the AM band. As part of the Triple M network, it carries an adult contemporary and classic hits format aimed at working adults, combining networked Triple M programming with local content from its Wagga studios at 11 Forsyth Street. The station streams via SCA's LiSTNR platform.

The web address www.triplem.com.au/riverina is listed as a candidate domain for the station. It is presented here as an attributed candidate rather than a load-verified official address, in line with this profile's sourcing policy.

History

2WG went to air for the very first time on the night of Wednesday, 29 June 1932, when Senator Charles Hardy performed the opening ceremony. It was originally owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Eric Vernon Roberts and Ida Annie "Nan" Roberts — both formerly school teachers in Narrandera. The studio and 100-watt AWA transmitter were originally located in the upper storey of the former Hardys' Building in Fitzmaurice Street, overlooking the Wollundry Lagoon. A replacement 2,000-watt transmitter, built by Eric's brother Phil Roberts on the Oura Road site, made 2WG one of the most powerful stations in Australia; it operated between 6.00 am and 11.00 pm.

The station's policy from the start was to "foster everything that comes under the title of Riverina" — a mission statement that SCA says remains a pillar of the station today. Over nine decades, 2WG has been part of the region's defining moments: keeping the community informed during floods and bushfires; celebrating the establishment of the RAAF base in 1940; the proclamation of Wagga Wagga as a city in April 1946; selling the first Chiko Roll at the Wagga Wagga Show in 1951; and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in February 1954.

Bill Kerr — who grew up in Wagga Wagga and went on to stardom in British radio, the West End stage and Australian film — served as a 2WG announcer as a teenager from 1939 to 1941. Past presenters include Peter Hand, Chris Couldrey, Sam Galea, Mal Wilcock, George "Groover" Wayne, John Doherty, David Watt, Kevin O'Neill and Barry Heydon.

In 1995, 2WZD (FM93) began broadcasting as the station's FM sister. In 1998, DMG Radio Australia bought both 2WG and FM93; in late 2004 the stations were bought by Southern Cross Austereo (via Macquarie Regional Radioworks). The stations moved from Fitzmaurice Street to the former Prime7 Television Centre in Kooringal on 6 June 2000, and 2WG relocated to its Forsyth Street studios on 6 October 2015. In December 2016, 2WG was rebranded as Triple M Riverina 1152 as part of SCA's Australia-wide rebranding, with FM93 becoming Hit 93.1 Riverina.

Programming and Content

The station celebrated 90 years on air in June 2022, with SCA marking the milestone across its platforms. "When the radio station opened back in 1932, the station policy right from the start was to 'foster everything that comes under the title of Riverina,'" said SCA NSW Regional Content Director Duncan Potts, "and it's a policy that is still a pillar of everything that we do today." The anniversary celebrated a station that has been "a part of so many significant moments of the region" — the floods and bushfires, the RAAF base, the city proclamation, the Chiko Roll, the royal visit — nine decades of the Riverina's shared history, broadcast on 1152.

The Riverina is one of Australia's great agricultural regions: the Murrumbidgee irrigation country, the wheat and sheep districts, the food bowl that feeds the nation. Wagga Wagga, the region's major inland city, anchors a district of farms, irrigation farms and country towns. For this audience, Triple M Riverina's farming weather updates and emergency broadcasts are essential services — the AM signal reaching the utes, tractors and farmhouses where FM doesn't go. The station's partnerships with local football clubs and agricultural shows reflect the district's sporting and farming life: in the Riverina, the footy club and the show society are community institutions, and the radio station is their voice.

Coverage and Audience

Triple M Riverina broadcasts on 1152 kHz AM to Wagga Wagga and the Riverina — one of Australia's great food bowls, spanning the Murrumbidgee irrigation country. The AM signal's wide footprint serves the rural audience across the region's highways and farms. Xtra Insights ratings indicate SCA holds a strong position among mature listeners through heritage presenters and sports coverage; ABC Riverina focuses on rural talk and Hit 93.1 targets younger pop demographics, leaving Triple M as the primary commercial choice for classic rock fans.

Ownership

Triple M Riverina is owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo, which acquired the station (with FM93) in late 2004 via Macquarie Regional Radioworks. It is part of the Triple M network, rebranded from 2WG in December 2016, and sits alongside sister station Hit 93.1 Riverina (the former FM93/Star FM, 2WZD) in the Wagga market. The SCA duopoly gives the company the adult contemporary/classic hits position (Triple M) and the CHR position (Hit) in the Riverina — the same pairing it holds in Orange, Newcastle and its other regional markets.

The station's studios at 11 Forsyth Street, Wagga Wagga (phone +61 2 6921 9219) have been its home since 6 October 2015, when 2WG relocated from the former Prime7 Television Centre in Kooringal — itself the station's home since 6 June 2000, when the stations left their historic Fitzmaurice Street premises. The Forsyth Street studios are where the local content is produced: the announcers, the farming weather, the football coverage and the community presence that make Triple M Riverina the Riverina's station rather than just a network relay.

Digital Presence

The station streams live through SCA's LiSTNR app and website (triplem.listnr.com/riverina), alongside the broader Triple M network's digital offering. It maintains an active social media presence and appears in online radio directories. The LiSTNR stream gives the heritage AM station a digital life beyond the 1152 kHz signal — the 1932 station, streaming to the world.

As Triple M Riverina, the former 2WG carries 90+ years of Riverina history on 1152 AM: from Eric and Nan Roberts' 100-watt transmitter above Fitzmaurice Street to the Triple M network — "The Voice of the Riverina" since 1932, fostering everything that comes under the title of Riverina. From the first Chiko Roll to the royal visit, from the floods to the football, the station has been the Riverina's companion for nine decades — and on 1152 AM and LiSTNR, it still is: the Voice of the Riverina since 29 June 1932, fostering everything that comes under the title of Riverina, on air then and on air now, from Eric and Nan Roberts' pioneering transmitter to the Triple M network of today — ninety years of the Riverina's voice, still on air.