Highs, lows and everything in between
THE velvety tones of some of Dunedin’s most wellknown radio presenters poured from movie speakers rather than Dunedin radios last night.
Rialto Cinema rolled out the red carpet for Radio Dunedin presenters, including Lyndsay Rackley and Owen Rooney and director Grant Findlay, at the premiere of Mr Findlay’s film about the station Radio Dunedin: The Documentary.
It tells the story of the characters both on the airwaves and listening at home to the fiftholdest radio station in the world.
Mr Findlay said it was ‘‘amazing’’ to celebrate the premiere of the film which had been three years in the making.
The film recounted the highs and lows of the station’s 95year history and the stories of its many eclectic presenters, Mr Findlay said.
Mr Rackley said he was honoured a film had been made about the station he had been involved with for ‘‘most’’ of his life.
‘‘To think this guy would take all this time, hours and hours, to make a film about us is amazing really.’’
The future of the station was solidified when the Labour government deregulated broadcasting in 1990 and it was given an FM frequency, he said.
However, its feel remained the same.
‘‘It’s different to other stations because we have a group of amateurs who run it at night, but they are really very good amateurs.
‘‘The sound of the station is not sleek like commercial stations and people like that.’’
During his career at the station, Mr Rackley had interviewed everyone from Sir Robert Muldoon to Harry Secombe.
The documentary included footage of when he was made redundant from his fulltime position by MediaWorks in 2015, a segment he said he was looking forward to watching.
He now worked for the station a few hours a week.
Former presenter Neil Collins said the station had been ‘‘a large part’’ of his life.
The station was entrenched in the fabric of the city.
‘‘It’s part of our community; it’s a friend; it has very much grown up with us.’’