In December 1984, Murray Hardinge and Bob Thornhill who had a passion for radio communication, secured an abandoned one-week broadcasting licence. A hastily assembled crew stepped in, clutching armfuls of records, to take to the airwaves on equally hastily assembled home equipment - and Healesville Co-operative Broadcasters was born.
Our studios from which numerous "test transmissions" were broadcast were located in several temporary venues:
The broadcasts were a resounding success and, with growing public profile, Yarra Valley FM commenced full-time broadcasting in March 1991 as 3VYV upon moving to rented premises with one studio in Woori Yallock shopping centre.
Over the years the station has suffered its share of interesting setbacks, from wombats chewing cables and the threat of bushfire, to the entire transmitter on Briarty's Hill burning down in December 1995. We were the only community radio station in Australia transmitting under "remote-area power supply" which meant that our volunteers had to regularly travel a borderline 4WD track to start the generator that recharged the batteries for transmitter power!
For many years, we were known as VYV - Voice of the Yarra Valley, but in May 2002 we rebranded as Yarra Valley FM to reflect the growing profile of the station. In March 2023, we returned to our roots, with newly fitted out studios in Healesville.
And we proudly continue to broadcast on 99.1 FM as well as streaming online from this website or via the Community Radio Plus app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week