Great Eastland Television
Encyclopedia
Great Eastland Television (GET) was a network of affiliated country television stations servicing northern New South Wales
and south-western Queensland
from 1974 to 1980. The system combined three pairs of television stations in the Darling and Southern Downs regions of Queensland and the New England
, Manning River
and North Coast
regions of northern New South Wales.
The stations involved in the network were:
All the stations were independently owned of each other, but shared common programming and branding. The stations were branded as GET (channel number), for example, DDQ/SDQ was known as GET 10-4-5a. The network was formed as a response to rising programming coasts incurred by regional stations in the 1970s.
The network was dismantled in the early 1980s, although by the close of the decade, NRN/RTN and DDQ/SDQ were co-owned and at one point, DDQ's operations were to be largely based out of Coffs Harbour, before becoming part of the RTQ license in the regional Queensland market.
Today, they are now affiliated with metropolitan networks as part of larger ownership groups. DDQ and SDQ are now relays of WIN Television
's Queensland license (as RTQ
), NRN and RTN are now Southern Cross Ten
's northern New South Wales station
, and NEN and ECN are now the Prime7 station
in the same market. In the latter cases, the RTN and ECN call-signs were replaced with those of NRN and NEN respectively.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and south-western Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
from 1974 to 1980. The system combined three pairs of television stations in the Darling and Southern Downs regions of Queensland and the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, Manning River
Manning River
The Manning River is a river in the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia that flows through the Manning Valley. It is one of Australia's few large river systems not to be dammed for water supply purposes anywhere along its catchment...
and North Coast
North Coast
North Coast or Northcoast may refer to :Australia* North Coast , a regionCanada* "North Coast" in British Columbia means the northernmost region of the British Columbia Coast, primarily the communities of Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat and surrounding areas** North Coast , an electoral district...
regions of northern New South Wales.
The stations involved in the network were:
- DDQ-10 and 5a ToowoombaToowoomba, QueenslandToowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...
/Darling Downs - SDQ-4 Southern Downs
- NRN-11 Coffs HarbourCoffs Harbour, New South Wales-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...
- RTN-8 LismoreLismore, New South WalesLismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...
- NEN-9 TamworthTamworth, New South WalesTamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
- ECN-8 TareeTaree, New South WalesTaree is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of around 20,000 people and is the centre of a significant agricultural district. It is 16 km from the sea coast,...
All the stations were independently owned of each other, but shared common programming and branding. The stations were branded as GET (channel number), for example, DDQ/SDQ was known as GET 10-4-5a. The network was formed as a response to rising programming coasts incurred by regional stations in the 1970s.
The network was dismantled in the early 1980s, although by the close of the decade, NRN/RTN and DDQ/SDQ were co-owned and at one point, DDQ's operations were to be largely based out of Coffs Harbour, before becoming part of the RTQ license in the regional Queensland market.
Today, they are now affiliated with metropolitan networks as part of larger ownership groups. DDQ and SDQ are now relays of WIN Television
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
's Queensland license (as RTQ
RTQ
RTQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in regional Queensland in Australia. The network was owned by Star Television, before being purchased by the WIN Corporation on 5 October 1988.-Network history:...
), NRN and RTN are now Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by the Macquarie Media Group in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by the Macquarie Media Group as is affiliated to Network Ten...
's northern New South Wales station
NRN
NRN is a television station originating in Coffs Harbour, Australia as part of the Southern Cross Ten network. The station was formally a partnership between NRN-11 Coffs Harbour and RTN-8 Lismore .-Origins:...
, and NEN and ECN are now the Prime7 station
NEN
NEN is an Australian television station licensed to, and serving northern New South Wales.-History:NEN9 Tamworth/Upper Namoi commenced transmissions on 10 April 1965, with a relay in Armidale on 15 July 1966...
in the same market. In the latter cases, the RTN and ECN call-signs were replaced with those of NRN and NEN respectively.