In 1995, group of interested people got together to look at the possibility of setting up a community radio station in Mansfield. Temporary broadcasting licences were obtained and the station commenced broadcasting for short periods on 99.9FM presenting a variety of quality programs.
On the 15th December 1997 Radio Mansfield began broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 99.7FM, from the old station masters house near the railway station in Mansfield. In November 2005 the radio station moved to new studios in the Café Connect building centrally located in the main street of Mansfield. After a fire disabled this building in September 2014. Radio Mansfield 99.7FM continued to broadcast from our outside broadcast caravan whilst we constructed two new studios in a space provided to us by the Mansfield Shire Council in the Community Centre building in Bank Place. We started broadcasting from these new studios in February 2015.
The station presents a variety of programs including local news and weather, community information and a variety of music including Country, Blues, Jazz, Classical, Celtic, Techno and Rock. Local schools and community groups regularly participate in our programs. We present live football coverage at local matches and regularly broadcast at community events from our outside broadcast van. We are also accredited emergency broadcasters.
Radio Mansfield signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of Emergency Services Commissioner in March 2011 to become accredited Emergency Broadcasters. This has not only enhanced the Mansfield community’s safety but also the State’s emergency management arrangements.
In November 2018 a new repeater (broadcasting on 88.7FM) was installed at Archerton, near Tolmie, to improve our signal in the North of our Shire. A repeater (broadcasting on 90.1FM) is at Frenchman’s Gap, near Woods Point, and improves our signal in the South of our Shire. All our transmitters and our studio have generators to make us more resilient in our role as emergency broadcasters.
In 2021 we became a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) and in 2022 we are applying for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status which will allow donations to our station to be tax deductible.
Mansfield is a great place to live. We have a great little station with happy, talented presenters and enthusiastic listeners. We are an important part of our community. The many visitors to our district appreciate the variety of programming we present and they often comment. “We wish we had a station like yours in Melbourne.”
Radio Mansfield 99.7FM also streams live on our website.
