Tranny Bag: Take Your Radio to the Beach

By Gareth Watkins (Radio Collection Developer, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision)

May the sunny weather never end…

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision has recently acquired a set of 1970s promotional material from 1ZM, including this plastic “Tranny Bag” for taking your transistor radio to the beach.

Here’s an example of a 1970s transistor radio:

Transistor radio design was varied and creative – we’re still trying to work out how you would fit Mickey’s ears into the bag!

The “Tranny Bag” dates from 1974. It was deposited along with a set of other 1ZM and 1ZB branded material from the same era. Among these are: playing cards, an over-sized novelty pencil, and a pen holder.

1ZM

1ZM was part of a three-station New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation music network that was established in 1973. In Auckland 1ZM broadcast on 1250 kHz, in Wellington on 1130 kHz, and Christchurch on 1400 kHz. The network was sold to The Radio Network (now NZME) in 1996, and has since grown to cover 20+ markets.

But 1ZM’s history goes right back to the late 1920s, when Bill Rodgers founded it as a private station in Manurewa – then a farming village south of Auckland. The station was later acquired by the government and moved into the 1941 Art Deco Broadcasting House building that also housed 1ZB.