Indigo FM was founded in June 2010 by Beechworth resident Paul Fitzgerald. Paul placed an ad seeking interested parties to set up a narrowcast radio station in local media and gained interest from several people most notably Shayne Soall and Phil Buerckner residents of Yackandandah.
Apart from the unofficial temporary bedroom set-up, our first official home was in a room at the rear of Camp St business Nine Mile Music. When Nine Mile Music closed in late 2010, we relocated to the Beechworth Youth Centre for a couple of years thanks to the generous support of Indigo Shire Youth Services and their officer Annette Walton. Today our Beechworth studio is based at the Beechworth Secondary College, where we have operated from since early 2013.
Our first home in Yackandandah was in a small room at the Star Hotel, where transmission commenced around September 2010 thanks to the efforts of Phil Buerckner. In early 2011 our Yackandandah studio moved straight across the road to its current premises – the Yackandandah Community Centre in High Street. In late 2014 a grant was secured from YCDCo by Yackandandah Community Centre to renovate the studio which included the installation of a window, signage, painting and an “on air” light.
A community meeting was held in Rutherglen in June 2013, to explore setting up an Indigo FM site. Following the enthusiastic support received, Rutherglen’s first base was in the Ladies Lounge at the Victoria Hotel where transmission commenced in July 2013. Rutherglen’s site has received generous support from many people and we especially acknowledge the support of Gerry and Ali Reed, the late Don Chambers, Colin Cooper and Roberta Horne. Around August 2014, we relocated to the Rutherglen Youth Space which is one of the activity spaces within the Rutherglen Soldiers Memorial Hall complex. In October 2016, we made the difficult decision to close our Rutherglen site due to an unresolved dispute with the licence holder and focus our energies on the sites where we owned licences.
In June 2015, Indigo FM celebrated its 5 year birthday kicking off a month of celebrations including market stall appearances and a wonderful cake to depict our achievement.
In January 2016, Indigo FM purchased a licence to set up a site in Chiltern. After a 2 year search for a suitable space, we have reached agreement with the Telegraph Hotel in Conness Street Chiltern to occupy a spare room. Indigo Shire Council provided a grant for equipment and with other donations from members and the community we are tracking toward being on-air around July 2018.
In July 2017, Indigo FM was approved as the lead tenant in Beechworth to manage the former Child and Maternal Health Building which will include relocating our radio studio from Beechworth Secondary College. We will run this facility in conjunction with Beechworth Urban Landcare and Sustainability (BULS) and the Beechworth Women’s Shed (BWS). Relocation of our studio is expected around July 2018.
Today Indigo FM is a rapidly growing local media organisation with approximately 80 members. These include individuals, and several businesses and community groups across Indigo Shire. We actively support many diverse community events and causes including Beechworth Music Festival, Eldorado’s Festival of Folk Rhythm and Life, Yackandandah Folk Festival, Arts Yackandandah Events, Chiltern’s Jam Weekend, Albury’s By The Banks, Mountaingrass and Beechworth’s Kelly Country Pick to name but a few. We are strong supporters of live music and independent musicians across all genres. In line with this we have recently established a weekly gig guide for the town of Beechworth which we distribute via social media and have launched Indigo FM Presents – a live music promotion arm of the station’s activities.
Our 40 regular volunteer presenters present a diverse range of shows, of which further information can be found here
In addition to physical sites, Indigo FM has a growing online presence with several shows podcast each week. Our podcast page can be viewed here