Jury rig being used to hoist a new radio most at Cooktown Radio, 1927.
Cooktown Radio opened on 12 June 1913. Cooktown is situated at the mouth of Endeavour River, approximately 160 kilometres north of Cairns; in its early days it was the terminal for large interstate passenger vessels travelling to North Queensland ports.
During the Palmer goldfields rush, the population swelled to almost 20,000, but after the gold boom the population rapidly declined. By 1931, there were only about 300 residents in Cooktown and much of the town was in disrepair.
Cooktown Radio served as the main station for traffic from New Guinea but after the stations were upgraded, Townsville took over this function (in 1930) and Cooktown reverted to handling ships' traffic. Messages to and from Thursday Island were sometimes routed through Cooktown if the land-line was out of action.
By 1930, a declining population meant that Cooktown was only serviced by a weekly launch bringing mail and supplies from Cairns. Two small cargo vessels delivered stores once a month from Brisbane and Sydney.
Conditions improved when, in 1936, an air service was established between Cooktown and Cairns which operated two or three times a day.
Although temperatures often reached into the high 30s, the weather at Cooktown was tempered by south-east trade winds, which made life tolerable for the radio station employees. Staff were able to enjoy outdoor pursuits such as swimming at nearby Finch Bay, fossicking in old tin mines, fishing and wild pig hunting.
The main complaint by Cooktown staff was negotiating the 200 metre high hill, affectionately known as 'Old Grassy', on which the radio station was built.
Generally, staff mingled with local residents and, over the years, many became assimilated into the local community.
Cooktown Radio was closed a few years after OTC took over the Coastal Radio Service in 1947.
