Late in 2025, community radio station 4ZZZ will celebrate its 50th birthday, having survived and thrived for an often tumultuous, but always impactful, half-century on air.
In 1975, a group of dedicated students and activists at University of Queensland, fed-up with the conservative media landscape in Brisbane, gave birth to radio station 4ZZZ. Having been central to a long, successful campaign to convince the Australian Government to introduce a new form of media : community radio, the group were granted one of Australia’s 12 initial FM licenses in mid-1975. The cohort quickly set about constructing a studio in the Student Union building at the University and on December the 8th the station launched, the first track played being The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again".
Group of volunteers with Ross Dannecker and Helen Hambling at the sound desk getting ready for a 4ZZ-FM test broadcast, 1975. 32602 Greg Perry negatives and photographs. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image: 32602-0009-0067
4ZZ FM 105.7 MHz: Stereo Rock Information + Access, 1975. 35001 4ZZ-FM papers. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Pioneering from the outset, the station was the first to broadcast in both FM and stereo in Queensland, and the first FM stereo rock music station in Australia. Initially launching as 4ZZ-FM, the station was soon required to adhere to national radio naming conventions which require 3 letters and became 4ZZZ (Four Triple Zed). Its first few years were under the frequency 105.7 FM, but in late 1978 the station was required to change to 102.1 FM where they have been found ever since.
Members of the band 'Moonlight' with Ashleigh Merrit, Ross Crighton and Stuart Matchett at the 4ZZZ studios, 20 February 1976, (Note poster in background announcing switch from 4ZZ to 4ZZZ). 32602 Greg Perry negatives and photographs. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image: 32602-0009-0027
With a focus on promoting new and local music, independent news and current affairs, and youth-oriented programming, 4ZZZ revolutionised the local media landscape and often found itself at loggerheads with the powers that be. Triple Zed provided a valuable platform for marginal voices in the Brisbane community and gave young people opportunities to gain skills in radio production, announcing and reporting serving as a stepping stone for many successful media careers.
Subscribe 4ZZZ-FM poster, 1980s, (Using Matt Mawson artwork). HPT SET Collection of posters on radio and television. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
It hasn’t been an easy ride. In 1988, 4ZZZ was evicted from the University of Queensland campus by a conservative student council. Not giving up without a fight, the station and its supporters resisted eviction as long as they could before finding a temporary home in Toowong in 1989. In 1992, the station was able to purchase a permanent home - the former Brisbane headquarters of the Communist Party of Australia, on Barry Parade, Fortitude Valley.
Joint effort no. 2, 1984. Jenny Mortimer. HPT MUS 067. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Throughout its 50 years. Triple Zed has mostly existed in a financially precarious state. Largely run by a team of dedicated volunteers, its income is dependent on subscribers, promotions and events. Many of the station’s fundraising activities have gained legendary status, from the early Joint Effort concerts, bringing some of the biggest artists in the country to Brisbane, to the iconic Market Days running through the 1980s and 1990s. The annual Radiothon subscription drive has been a station bedrock from the very beginning, offering prizes and incentives to entice renewals and new subscribers alike.
Market day 4zzz Octo Bananana Noon-Sunset, 1985. Sally Hart. HPT MUS 915. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Punk rock band Mystery of Sixes performing Azaria at the first 4ZZZ No Choice Market Day, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 1982. 30230 Peter Fischmann 4ZZZ No Choice Market Day photographs. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image: 30230-0001-0029
The 4ZZZ Hottest 100, pioneered by the station in 1977, long before it was appropriated by others, has been an annual institution for most of the station’s lifetime. The Radio Times publication, although increasingly intermittent, has also been there for the duration, providing a wonderful documentary record of the station.
Radio Times, 8 Dec. 1975 – 8 Jan. 1976, (The first issue). S 791 013. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Four Triple Zed has become a cultural touchstone in the city of Brisbane and its surroundings, having had a profound impact on the lives of generations of young people, on the people it has been a mouthpiece for, on the musical landscape of this city, and on the many thousands it has reached.
A small sample of posters and ephemera from our collection highlighting the history 4ZZZ will be on display in the Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery on Level 4 as part of the Extraordinary Stories showcase from October 2025 until June 2026.
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