RADIO 540 BOPHUTHATSWANA
© 2004 Colin Miller
For many years Christians in South Africa had been praying for a radio station located on South African soil to broadcast the Gospel. At the time, the SABC had the monopoly for broadcasting in the country, and broadcasts of a religious nature were only transmitted on Sundays and for short periods each day. There was very little in the way of evangelical programming.
But their prayers were answered in 1974, when Trans World Radio (TWR), an American-based Christian broadcaster, began broadcasting from Swaziland. A few years later TWR and a group of Christians in Pretoria formed TWR(RSA)Radio Pulpit/Radio Kansel, the South African branch of TWR, and opened offices and studios in Pretoria.
On 28 April 1981, TWR(RSA) commenced construction of a 50,000 watt mediumwave (AM) radio station at Hebron near Ga-Rankuwa in the Bophuthatswana homeland, northwest of Pretoria. Of the R400,000 required to build such a facility, R200,000 was raised by church groups. The station, known as Radio 540, because of the frequency used, began regular morning transmissions in English and Afrikaans on Monday, 5 July 1982. The station was officially opened on 2 October of that year. The main speakers at the dedication were Dr. Paul Freed, International President of TWR, and Dr. Willie Maais, Managing Director of TWR(RSA). Broadcasting time was extended to daylight hours, and the following year also during evening hiours. You can hear the inaugural sign-on via the audio file on this website.
The Hebron station is now used by Radio Bop, a commercial station. Radio Pulpit/Radio Kansel now broadcasts from a transmitter at Meyerton, south of Johannesburg. |
