Warren RoutPrint Page

Canberra Christian radio station, 1WAYFM, commemorated the station’s founder, Warren Rout, by naming its refurbished on-air studio in his honour at the 2012 ‘Share-a-thon’ open day on the 5th August.

Warren established Canberra Christian Radio Limited on 20 February 1991, with the assistance of four other directors. Fol­lowing his career in the RAAF, during which time he managed the Air Force radio station at Butterworth in Malaysia, Warren saw the positive impact radio could have in people’s lives and was determined to expand Christian radio in Australia.

Originally named Radio Rhema, 1WAY FM launched on air on 11 April 1991 but would only operate for a few hours at a time due to the community broadcast licensing conditions at the time. It wasn’t until mid 2000 that 1WAYFM was awarded a perma­nent community broadcasting licence that enabled it to broad­cast 24/7 across the Canberra region

The radio station originally began life in a shed in Warren’s backyard in Fraser, and after several location changes in the following years, was finally established at its present loca­tion in Fyshwick, officially opened by Warren on 28 Febru­ary 1999. 1WAY FM was not the only station to benefit from Warren’s vision – he helped establish more than 20 Christian community radio stations across Australia. During his time as Managing Director of United Christian Broadcasters Australia (1993 – 2000), Warren started the Vision Radio Network, a national satellite service beaming in Christian radio to rural Australian communities that could never afford to run their own community stations.

Warren was Chairman of Canberra Christian Radio Limited and Station Manager from 20 February 1991 to 30 June 1997. Warren died in Canberra on 4 December 2010.

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