primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . july 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message 2hd city newcastle new south wales australia broadcast area newcastle ra1 1 branding 2hd slogan newcastle s home of news & talk frequency 1143 khz am translator s 97.5 fm port stephens first air date 27 january 1925 1925 01 27 2 format news talk classic hits language s english audience share 10.5 % 7 august 2015 gfk 3 power 2 kw callsign meaning 2 new south wales hugh douglas affiliations super radio network am network owner broadcast operations group 2hd broadcasters pty ltd sister stations 105.3 new fm website official website 2hd is an australian radio station in new south wales . owned and operated as part of the super radio network of stations it currently broadcasts a news talk and classic hits format to newcastle new south wales and the surrounding hunter region . first broadcast on 27 january 1925 it was established by founder hugh douglas from which the station derives its name and is based in studios in sandgate alongside sister station new fm . contents 1 history 1.1 1925 1945 1.2 1945 1977 1.3 1977 today 2 programming 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit 1925 1945 edit 2hd began broadcasting on 27 january 1925 a day after sydney s 2ue began operations . the station s call sign are the initials of the founder hugh known as harry douglas not hunter district as commonly believed . douglas was a keen amateur radio enthusiast for some years prior to 1925 and an alderman on the newcastle city council from 1919 to 1922 . harry s full name was hugh alexander mckay douglas . he was also the first person to own a sulky and car tyre retreading business in newcastle as well as having the first bowser petrol station in newcastle . he was a man ahead of his time . the station was originally in the suburb of hamilton new south wales but moved to the corner of darby and king streets to his tyre business address soon after . douglas sold the station to william johnston in 1928 who sold the station to the airsales broadcasting company two years later in 1930 . airsales owned the company for 10 years and was responsible for the move to its landmark studio building in sandgate which was 2hd s home for nearly 50 years . although the building itself is very different the middle section of the building is still the 1931 building . under controversial circumstances during world war ii 2hd was closed in 1941 under the national security regulations . at the time around 25 staff were employed by the station and stories claimed that the station s owners were sending covert messages based on the timing of the music being played etc. 2hd remained silent until near the end of the war when the australian labor party and the labor council of new south wales bought the station and resumed transmissions on 15 january 1945 . 4 one of 2hd s notable personalities of the 1930s was uncle rex sinclair who continued to perform on local radio and stage until shortly before his death in 2001 . 1945 1977 edit the labor party and the nsw labour council owned 2hd from 1945 until 1999 . for the first 29 years of its ownership the station was under the management of jim storey with his wife twink acting as program director and on air personality . other announcers during this time included harry randall stuart dibbley and tom delaney . in the late 1950s and early 1960s 2hd was one of the founding shareholders of local television station nbn television . 2hd broadcast in the popular the good guys of life format also used by other stations including 2sm sydney . presenters during this time included harry randall tom delaney art ryan haff enegg mal lamonte john hill allan mcgirvan mike jeffries malcolm elliott keith haerris graeme gilbert don mayo rob maynard and cliff musgrave . towards the end of this period announcer geoff gregory joined the station but was better known as a program director and host of the sunday night program country sounds . after the good guys era ended 2hd transmitted other formats including easy alternative and country . in 1977 the original office building on maitland road sandgate was closed . several years prior to that the building was gradually being demolished starting with the destruction of the original transmitter building to make way for a dual carriageway along maitland road in 1964 . the increased traffic and the location of the road near the old building was taking its toll . a new administration building nicknamed the submarine was built and nsw premier neville wran opened the building in 1977 . 1977 today edit in the late 1970s early 1980s the station was the subject of a takeover bid from nbn which resulted in a shake up in ownership at the television station and the bid was eventually rejected . for decades after the end of the good guys era the station s ratings were in the doldrums however the station accomplished its first number one ratings success in 1987 after adopting a strong news and talk format . factors in this success were the recruitment of 2ko s pat barton to present their breakfast program and warwick teece whose openline program was a huge success . program director peter butler was a key part of the station s success guiding the team to the top of the ratings . the coverage of the newcastle earthquake in 1989 by the news team led by tony briscoe won the station a national radio award . the 90 s saw 2hd confirm its place as the top rating station in newcastle led by the breakfast team of david collins and tanya wilks who notched up over 8 years of consecutive survey wins and supported by geoff jay and richard king . the station expanded following the purchase of local fm station new fm in 1995 which resulted in internal remodelling of the building . in 1999 the nsw labor party and nsw labour council sold the station to bill caralis . in 1997 the station added the john laws morning show to its lineup which it remained until his departure of 2ue in 2007 . he was replaced by steve price broadcaster and later steve liebman until laws moved to network station 2sm in 2011 and was syndicated to rest of the super radio network . until 2006 the station also broadcast coverage of newcastle knights games then syndicated from macquarie radio network . however following a dispute between bog macquarie radio network and the national rugby league nrl saw both the continuous call team and knights games go to rival 102.9 kofm . programming edit monday friday talk overnight with gary stewart 12am to 5am early breakfast with grant goldman 5am to 5 30am from 2sm sydney breakfast show with richard king 5 30am to 9am john laws morning show 9am to 12pm from 2sm sydney brent bultitude in the afternoon on air from 12pm to 4pm 3pm talkin sport 4pm to 7pm from 2sm sydney sportsday central with scott sattler and gary belcher 7pm to 8pm talk tonight with graeme gilbert 8pm to 12am from 2sm sydney saturday talk overnight 12am to 4am hi tide fishing show saturday mornings 4am to 6am poppy savakis 7am to 12pm sports 12pm 2pm dean mackin 2pm to 5pm gamenight nrl 5pm to 6pm from 2sm sydney carter edwards country 6pm to 12am sunday talk overnight with david gubbay 12am to 4am hi tide fishing show sunday mornings 4am to 7am rex hunt 7am 7 30am sports 7 30am 8am pete davis sunday morning 8am to 11am sports 11am to 12pm straight talk with poppy savakis 12pm to 6pm from 2sm sydney carter edwards country 6pm to 12am see also edit list of australian radio stations broadcast operations group references edit http www.acma.gov.au licplan defmaps documents maps la 534.pdf http www.acma.gov.au webwr assets main lib100052 lic022 commercial radio broadcasting licences.pdf newcastle survey 2 2015 pdf . labour takes over 2hd . the sydney morning herald . 16 january 1945 . p. 1 . retrieved 12 may 2010 . external links edit official website v t e radio stations in newcastle new south wales am stations 2hd 1143 1233 abc newcastle sky sports radio 1341 sbs radio 1413 abc newsradio 1458 radio national 1512 newcastle hospital radio 1629 fm stations 2chr 96.5 rhema fm 99.7 2rph 100.5 triple j 102.1 kofm 102.9 2nur 103.7 new fm 105.3 abc classic fm 106.1 nxfm 106.9 regional new south wales radio market albury wodonga newcastle upper hunter wagga wagga australia radio markets adelaide brisbane canberra darwin gold coast hobart melbourne newcastle perth sydney see also list of radio stations in australia v t e broadcast operations group also known as super radio network hub stations in bold am network news talk classic hits 2sm 1269 sydney 2ad 1134 armidale 2bh 567 broken hill 2hc 639 coffs harbour 2du 1251 dubbo 2gf 1206 grafton 2mo 1080 gunnedah 2nz 1188 inverell radio 531 kempsey 2lm 900 lismore 2vm 1530 moree 2mg 1449 mudgee 2hd 1143 newcastle 2el 1089 orange 2pk 1404 parkes 2tm 1287 tamworth 2re 1557 taree radio 97 972 murwillumbah 2lf 1350 young 4gy 558 gympie 4wk 963 toowoomba fm network hot adult contemporary new fm 105.3 newcastle fm100 .3 armidale hill fm 93.5 broken hill zoo fm 92.7 dubbo fm104 .7 grafton triple g 97.5 gunnedah gem fm 95.1 106.7 inverell zzz fm 100.9 lismore now fm moree real fm mudgee rok fm parkes 92.9 tamworth max fm 107.3 taree roccy fm 93.9 young 4ak 1242am toowoomba digital radio gorilla super digi dance music zoo digital hot adult contemporary dance super digi dance anthems fun super digi classic hits oldies executive staff bill caralis see also list of radio stations in australia v t e significant places and items of interest in the hunter region of new south wales commerce and industry industry cardiff locomotive workshops forgacs shipyard hunter valley coal chain hunter valley wine kia ora stud kooragang island newcastle port corporation tomago aluminium smelter shopping charlestown square hunter street stockland glendale stockland green hills westfield kotara other national stock exchange of australia education primary avondale school hunter valley grammar school kahibah public school newcastle grammar school secondary all saints college st joseph s campus avondale school callaghan college waratah technology campus hunter school of the performing arts hunter valley grammar school irrawang high school lambton high school maitland grossmann high school maitland high school merewether high school newcastle grammar school newcastle high school rutherford technology high school tomaree high school tertiary avondale college hunter tafe university of newcastle entertainment sport and culture broadmeadow basketball stadium dungog film festival hunter valley steamfest newcastle civic theatre newcastle entertainment centre newcastle international sports centre newcastle number 1 sports ground newcastle regional show newcastle 500 geography general broughton island burning mountain cape hawke glenrock lagoon lake chichester lake macquarie myall lakes mount royal range mount sugarloaf port stephens stockton beach tops to myall heritage trail national parks and nature reserves barrington tops black bulga state conservation area booti booti ghin doo ee mount royal myall lakes tomaree towarri wallingat watagans werakata the glen rivers allyn avon barrington bow bylong chichester gloucester goulburn hunter karuah manning myall pages paterson wangat williams worondi rivulet historical air transport broadmeadow aerodrome defence fort scratchley greta army camp education newcastle boys high school general history of newcastle new south wales hunter valley cannabis infestation lake macquarie petrified forest maitland gaol newcastle museum nobbys head royal newcastle hospital tahlee historic property industry cockle creek power station cockle creek smelter south maitland coalfields south waratah colliery state dockyard teralba colliery walka water works walsh island dockyard and