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'Toots' Mitchell and 4XD staff

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'Toots' Mitchell and 4XD staff

D. G. 'Toots' Mitchell (far left), the founding father of Dunedin radio station 4ZD, is shown here with other members of the station in the 1940s. They are Ian Little (at the microphone), Ron Ferguson, Harry Dale, John McIlroy and 'Snow' Annison. Mitchell had been among the enthusiasts of the Otago Radio Association who, in 1922, set up the first radio station in New Zealand. The station was one of only two that were not bought up by the state in the mid-1930s. At that time it changed its name to 4XD and was still broadcasting in the 2010s.

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Radio Dunedin

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How to cite this page

Brian Pauling, Radio – The state takes over – the 1930s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/42797/toots-mitchell-and-4xd-staff (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Brian Pauling, published 24 September 2013.

Comments

Kristine Johnstone
10 April 2021
John McIlroy 88 years old 24/03/2021. Living in Dunedin.