SPOTLIGHT:

REACH BEYOND AUSTRALIA

HCJB's Voice to the Asia-Pacific

This article first appeared in the August 2026 issue of my World of Shortwave Listening column for The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com

From its transmitter site near Kununurra in Western Australia, Reach Beyond Australia remains one of the few major religious shortwave broadcasters in the Southern Hemisphere. Although the organisation adopted the Reach Beyond name in 2014, its roots lie firmly in HCJB (“Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings”), the pioneering missionary broadcaster founded in Quito, Ecuador, in 1931.

HCJB began broadcasting on Christmas Day 1931 from Quito and became known worldwide as “The Voice of the Andes.” Over subsequent decades, it grew into one of the largest international Christian broadcasting organisations, transmitting in numerous languages via high-power shortwave facilities.

Support for HCJB in Australia dates back to the 1950s, when Australian volunteers and missionaries helped promote the Ecuador-based ministry. HCJB Australia was formally incorporated in 1986 as The World Radio Missionary Fellowship of Australia. Under the leadership of David Maindonald and others, the Australian branch evolved from a support organisation into an international broadcaster in its own right.

A major turning point came in 1997, when a 200-acre property near Kununurra was offered to HCJB Australia. Following legislative changes that enabled international shortwave broadcasting from Australia, four licences were granted in April 2001. The station commenced broadcasting to the South Pacific on 5 January 2003, with transmissions to Asia following shortly afterwards.

When HCJB Global rebranded as Reach Beyond in 2014, the Australian operation adopted the new identity while continuing to focus on Christian broadcasting for underserved regions of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Kununurra Transmitters and Kilsyth Studios

Kununurra was chosen for its geographical advantages. Located in Australia’s far north-west, it provides excellent shortwave paths to Asia and the Pacific. The site lies about six kilometres west of the town and is adjacent to the massive Ord River irrigation system.

The original transmission facility entered service in 2003, using HC100 transmitters developed by HCJB engineers. These high-power 100 kW shortwave transmitters were designed for international broadcasting. Initially, two HC100 units operated across several antennas. Later, additional transmitters from HCJB’s shortwave site at Pifo, Ecuador, were refurbished and shipped to Australia. A third HC100 transmitter entered service in 2016, increasing scheduling flexibility and enabling more broadcasts during peak listening hours.

Today, the facility employs three 100 kW HC100 transmitters, with provision for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) operation.

The antenna system is equally impressive. Due to limitations at the original site caused by nearby airport restrictions, Reach Beyond developed a larger transmission complex on government-leased land west of the original property. The new site uses high-gain directional curtain arrays suspended between towers up to 128 metres (420 feet) tall. Some antennas were sourced from HCJB’s former Ecuador site, while another large curtain array was acquired from Croatia.

These curtain arrays consist of multiple dipoles positioned in front of reflective screens, concentrating energy towards specific target regions. Their directional characteristics enable efficient coverage of South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

While transmission originates in Western Australia, programme production and administration are centred nearly 3000 km (1865 mi) away at Reach Beyond Australia’s headquarters in Kilsyth, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The studios are only 10 km (6 mi) from my home!

The Kilsyth facility serves as the operational hub for programme recording, editing, scheduling, audience correspondence and international ministry partnerships. A range of Christian organisations also use the studio facilities for programme production.

Languages, Target Areas and Programming

Reach Beyond’s broadcasting strategy focuses on populations with limited access to Christian media, particularly in regions where local Christian broadcasting is restricted or absent. The station currently broadcasts in more than 30 languages. Over the years, these have included English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian, Burmese, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Bangla, Malayalam, Chhattisgarhi, Dzongkha, Rohingya, and numerous minority languages spoken across India, Myanmar, Bhutan, and surrounding regions.

Programming consists primarily of Christian teaching, Bible studies, devotional content, family and community programmes, health information, music, and listener correspondence features. Much of the output is produced in partnership with local ministries and broadcasters in the target countries, ensuring that programmes are culturally and linguistically relevant.

An interesting feature of the RBA transmission schedule is the Korean service. It is listed simply as an RBA broadcast. However, it is programming from Voice of Martyrs Korea, a Christian ministry based in Seoul, South Korea. Some VOKM services are transmitted via Tashkent, Uzbekistan. However, the current transmission times for VOMK via Kununurra are as follows:

1030-1045 (Tu, We Th) on 11650 to E. Asia

1030-1100 (Mo, Fr, Sa, Su) on 11650 to E. Asia

Reception reports for the Kununurra services should be sent to VOMK in Seoul.

The rest of the Reach Beyond schedule is too complex to list here. So, you can download it at: https://www.reachbeyond.org.au/on-air/broadcast-schedule/

More than two decades after its first transmission, Reach Beyond Australia continues to demonstrate the enduring value of shortwave radio. By combining Melbourne-based programme production with a sophisticated, high-power transmission facility in Kununurra, it carries on the legacy of HCJB’s pioneering international broadcasting ministry across one of the world’s most densely populated regions.

73 and good DXing of Reach Beyond!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

Radio stations featured in the Spotlight series

Note: This series covers more than ten years, so the frequencies and times mentioned in some of the articles may be out-of-date. Refer to the latest schedule information for current operating times.

SPOTLIGHT: SICHUAN ETHNIC RADIO

SPOTLIGHT: IFRIKYA FM

SPOTLIGHT: THE VOICE OF JINLING

SPOTLIGHT: TAJIKISTAN ON SHORTWAVE

SPOTLIGHT: TRANS WORLD RADIO AFRICA

SPOTLIGHT: BBC ASCENSION ISLAND RELAY STATION

SPOTLIGHT: JAPAN’S PRIVATE SHORTWAVE STATION

SPOTLIGHT: VOICE OF BEIBU BAY RADIO

SPOTLIGHT: WONDERFUL WOOFFERTON

SPOTLIGHT: RADIO MIRAYA - THE SOUND OF SUDAN! (Sadly, this station no longer operates on shortwave)

SPOTLIGHT: RADIO VANUATU

SPOTLIGHT: KYRGYZSTAN ON SHORTWAVE