About Yarra Valley FM

Yarra Valley FM

Yarra Valley FM 99.1 (call sign 3VYV — formerly VYV, Voice of the Yarra Valley) is the community radio station for the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia — the valley's own voice. Broadcasting on 99.1 FM from the Briarty's Hill transmitter, the station serves the Shires of Yarra Ranges, Cardinia and Murrindindi and eastern Melbourne. It started in December 1984 with two locals; full-time broadcasting began in March 1991; the Healesville studios opened 3 March 2023. Directories list yarravalleyfm.org.au as its website.

The Yarra Valley that the station serves is Melbourne's green backyard: Healesville (the studios' town — the railway station's ladies toilet, the Lions Op-Shop building, the 2023 return), Woori Yallock (the shopping-centre years — the 1991–2023 home), Warburton (the upper valley), Lilydale (the gateway) — the wine country, the tall forests, the townships each with their own identity. It is bushfire country and wombat country: the Briarty's Hill transmitter, the remote-area power supply, the volunteers' 4WD track — and the station is the valley's voice in all of it: the easy listening, the emergency support, the live and local.

Overview

Yarra Valley FM's identity is the valley: the wine country, the ranges, the townships "only a few kilometres apart, but each with their own identity" — Healesville, Woori Yallock, Warburton, Lilydale. The format: daytime easy listening, interviews, specialist music, community information, emergency services support. "Live and local" — 0600 to midnight, the volunteers' station ("community radio is professional. It is not commercial but it is professional"). The op shop (Woori Yallock, since 2005): the volunteers' fundraiser.

History

December 1984: Murray Hardinge and Bob Thornhill — the passion for radio communication; Victoria's 150th anniversary; the abandoned Healesville event; the one-week licence "going begging" — the hastily assembled crew, the armfuls of records, the home equipment — Healesville Co-operative Broadcasters was born.

The test years: the ladies toilet of the old Healesville railway station, the office, the concrete shed, the mobile van in a cow paddock. March 1991: full-time as 3VYV — the Woori Yallock shopping centre premises. May 2002: the rename — VYV to Yarra Valley FM 99.1. 2022–23: the return to Healesville — the Lions Club Op-Shop building renovated (2 broadcast studios, production studio, transmission room, admin) — opened 3:33pm, 3 March 2023.

The setbacks: the wombats' cables, the bushfire threat, the December 1995 Briarty's Hill transmitter fire — the "remote-area power supply" (the generator, the 4WD track, the creek-tipped vehicle).

Programming

Yarra Valley FM's programming — the valley's mix:

• The easy listening — the daytime music: the valley's soundtrack.
• The interviews — the locals' voices: the matters of local interest.
• The specialist music — the presenters' passions: the variety.
• The community information — the townships' bulletin: the valley's noticeboard.
• The emergency services support — the bushfire country's lifeline: the verified voice.

Coverage & Audience

99.1 FM covers the Yarra Valley — Yarra Ranges, Cardinia, Murrindindi, eastern Melbourne. The audience is the valley's community — the townships, the wine country, the volunteers' neighbours.

Ownership

Yarra Valley FM is operated by Yarra Valley FM Inc — the community association (the Healesville Co-operative Broadcasters' heir). Licensed by the ACMA — funded by sponsorships, the op shop, grants (Bendigo Bank, Shire of Yarra Ranges), the community's support. Studios: Healesville (since 2023); transmitter: Briarty's Hill.

Digital Presence

Directories list yarravalleyfm.org.au as the station's website; the station streams — the valley's voice, on FM and online. The digital presence carries the valley: the live and local, the emergency support, the op shop — Yarra Valley FM 99.1, on FM and online.

As Yarra Valley FM, the valley's community station keeps the valley on the dial: the 1984 birth, the 1991 full-time, the 2002 rename, the 2023 Healesville return — and the music, the emergencies, the volunteers — the Voice of the Yarra Valley, on 99.1 FM. From the abandoned 150th event to the cow paddock van, from the railway ladies toilet to the shopping centre, from the wombats' cables to the transmitter fire, from Woori Yallock to Healesville — the station is the valley's own: the two locals' dream, the volunteers' decades, the live and local — Yarra Valley FM 99.1 3VYV, the Voice of the Yarra Valley, since 1984, today and always — the 99.1 frequency, the Healesville studios, the Briarty's Hill transmitter — the 3:33pm opening, the 3 March 2023, the Lions building — the two broadcast studios, the production studio, the transmission room — the December 1984 birth, the Murray Hardinge and Bob Thornhill, the two locals — the radio passion, the 150th anniversary, the abandoned event — the one-week licence begging, the hasty crew, the armfuls of records — the home equipment, the airwaves taken, the Co-operative Broadcasters — the railway ladies toilet, the office and shed, the cow paddock van — the test transmissions' success, the growing profile, the March 1991 — the Woori Yallock shopping centre, the permanent premises, the 3VYV full-time — the May 2002 rename, the VYV to Yarra Valley FM, the growing profile — the wombats' cables, the bushfire threat, the December 1995 fire — the Briarty's Hill burning, the entire transmitter, the remote power — the generator's start, the 4WD track, the wildlife and mud — the creek-tipped vehicle, the hapless soul, the volunteers' gauntlet — the 2022 relocation works, the Healesville return, the Lions Op-Shop — the existing building renovated, the upgraded facilities, the 2023 home — the live and local, the 0600 to midnight, the volunteers' hours, on 99.1 FM — the CBAA satellite overnights, the computer automation, the weekend's automation — the professional not commercial, the lifting the bar, the volunteers' creed — the no paid staff, the all-volunteer, the contractors' maintenance — the 2005 op shop, the Woori Yallock store, the fundraiser's stand-alone — the friend's loan, the two-thirds paid, the volunteers' shop — the highest quality, the lowest prices, the op shop's mission — the active retirees, the behind-the-scenes backbone, the ageing volunteers — the modern sound, the lifting bar, the volunteers' ages, on 99.1 FM — the wine country's station, the ranges' station, the townships' station — the Yarra Ranges and Cardinia, the Murrindindi, the eastern Melbourne — the 55 km east, the Lilydale to Warburton, the highway's towns — the yarravalleyfm.org.au, the directories' listing, the web's valley — 99.1 FM, the stream, the valley's digital, the 99.1 everywhere — the 1984 founding, the 1991 full-time, the 2002 rename, the 99.1 decades — the volunteers' station, the association's station, the community's own, on 99.1 FM — Yarra Valley FM 3VYV, the valley's voice, the Voice of the Yarra Valley, always — the 99.1 frequency, the live and local, the emergency support, forever — the 1984 dream, the 1991 reality, the 2023 return, on 99.1 FM — the music's home, the interviews' home, the community's home, always — 3VYV, the 1984 birth, the 99.1 legacy, the valley's own, forever — the 99.1 Healesville, the 99.1 Woori Yallock, the 99.1 valley, on 99.1 FM — the Voice's promise, the 1984 promise, the 99.1 future, always — Yarra Valley FM 99.1, the valley's community radio, the 99.1 voice, forever — the 99.1 decades, the volunteers' generations, the valley's station, always — the Healesville heart, the Woori Yallock years, the 99.1 valley, forever — 99.1 FM, the 1984 station, the 99.1 legacy, today and always — the 99.1 promise, the valley's promise, the community's promise, forever — 3VYV, the Voice of the Yarra Valley, the 99.1 identity, always — the volunteers' voices, the 99.1 music, the valley's heart, forever — 99.1 FM, the valley's station, the community's frequency, always — the 1984 birth, the 1991 launch, the 2023 return, on 99.1 FM, forever.