Hi, it’s Adrian Bo here and today I’m on the corner of Storey Street and Everett Street in Maroubra to talk about an extraordinary local legend who created an institution that continues to live on. Cecil Stevenson generally known as “Pa” Stevenson, was born in 1878 and established a company called Electrical Utilities, based in George Street in Randwick. While he was living here on Everett Street, Stevenson was an electrical engineer and became fascinated with the transmission of sound over radio waves. This led to him building the first transmitter as Chief Engineer for radio station 2SB. In 1920 he then set up an experimental radio station called 2IY from his home here behind me as you can see at 2 Everett Street in Maroubra. For four years he experimented with 2IY until he was ready to apply for a full radio licence and in 1925 he was granted PMG Broadcasting Station Licence Number 12. He decided to reverse the initials of his company Electrical Utilities, to form the station call sign, because he thought it was easier to pronounce, causing the birth of the very now famous AM radio station 2UE. Now to set the scene, this station has since become the oldest Commercial Radio Station in Australia So it’s quite remarkable to relate how basic the broadcasting was back then. Firstly there was only one show per day, broadcast between 8 pm and 10 pm by Stevenson himself from his living room here behind me at 2 Everett Street in Maroubra. The show consisted of several segments featuring sing-alongs whilst the family pianola played a roll of music in the background as an accompaniment.

Also songs played from a gramophone placed next to the broadcasting transmitter and on the hour the living room grandfather clock would chime to reflect the time on the hour every hour. There were cheerio calls and birthday greetings and to fill in gaps there was advertising from the local butcher on George Street, who’s name was Harry Woods. You couldn’t make it up but would you believe when the pianola roll ran out, Pa Stevenson would manually replace the roll and for the few minutes that took he would keep the microphone alive and broadcast himself whistling to fill the silence. The programming evolved to include drama shows and serials initially led by one of the most prominent actors of the time, George Edwards. Cricket was very high profile in Sydney in 1931 and 2UE became responsible for averting a national disaster. The Great Sir Don Bradman was considering leaving Australia to play cricket for Accrington in England, however, the rules said that if he played cricket outside Australia he could not play in the Test side. An offer was made for Bradman to broadcast a cricket show twice a week on 2UE as well as write a newspaper column. He earned 1,000 pounds a year from this deal which was a small fortune back then and it kept him in Australia, what a great story. The Don also regularly played the piano during another of 2UE’s weekly shows, named “Call to Youth”. Such amazing pioneering times and Pa Stevenson’s radio station evolved into a large commercial broadcaster.

Now in 1934, Pa Stevenson sold 2UE to Associated Newspapers Limited, who were publishers of The Sun newspaper, however Stevenson’s son Murray continued to be involved in the station. The station merged with 2GB and moved to studios and offices in Savoy House on Bligh Street. It’s incredible how these broadcasting institutions were formed from such basic pioneering by people with a sense of possibilities without necessarily a grand master plan. Now I’ve been selling real estate in the Maroubra, Coogee, Randwick and Clovelly for over 32 years and in that time I’ve seen hot markets come and go. Right now Maroubra prices for certain types of property have really spiked. For example the Median price for five bedroom houses in Maroubra is an incredible 42.6% higher this year than last year. The median for three bedroom houses in Maroubra is up by a massive 26.3% and a two bedroom house is up by 16.4% compared to last year. Interestingly, four bedroom houses in Maroubra had a huge spike last year where the median rise was 25.3% and the increase has continued this year with a further 5.8% growth. If you’d like a market appraisal on your property please don’t hesitate I’d love to come and visit with you. My number is 0418-278-316. I’m passionate about keeping our local legends and their historical stories alive. Keep smiling and always remember your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.