Wellington Radio ZLW closed at 19h00 on 30 September 1993, after more than 82 years of service. At the same time, sister station Auckland Radio ZLD also closed.
The station’s acting manager at the time of closure was Peter Baird, who moved to Taupo Radio ZLM after ZLW went off the air. He became a Silent Key on 26 September 2023, at age 77.
Final radiotelephone transmission
Transcript:
Hello all stations, all stations, this is Wellington Radio, Wellington Radio, Zulu Lima Whiskey. After 82 years of dedicated service to mariners, local and foreign, our final moment is upon us. No longer will the callsigns of Wellington Radio – Zulu Lima Whiskey and Auckland Radio – Zulu Lima Delta ring through the ether. It is with great sadness we transmit our final message and close another page in the history book of a once-proud maritime nation. We extend to you all – our friends, colleagues and acquaintances – our very best wishes for the future and sincere thanks for your support and messages of goodwill. Wellington Radio will open up 4146 for any further calls. This is Wellington Radio – Zulu Lima Whiskey out, and no longer listening on 2182, 4125 or Channel 16 VHF. Good evening.
[pause while listening]
Aratika, Wellington Radio. Thank you.
Final morse transmission
Here is what the final Morse transmission from ZLW sounded like, although this video may have been a “test run” for the 3 NEWS camera. The radio operator is Peter Baird.
Transcript:
CQ CQ CQ DE ZLW ZLW QSW 417 NAV WNG 110 –
CQ CQ DE ZLW ZLW – NAV WNG 110 – ON 30TH SEPTEMBER ALL TRANSMISSIONS FROM COAST RADIO STATIONS AUCKLANDRADIO/ZLD AND WELLINGTONRADIO/ZLW WILL BE DISPLACED BY TAUPO MARITIME RADIO
Here are off-air recordings of the final transmissions of ZLW, recorded by David Smith ZL2WT (these recordings are quite loud, so you may wish to reduce your computer’s volume before playing them):
RELATED: Hear the final tranmissions from Auckland Radio ZLD, which closed the same day as Wellington Radio.