“With a voice like yours, you’ll never be an announcer,” predicted the sister of young Bob Rogers, almost 80 years ago.

Last Wednesday, the veteran radio presenter, whose broadcasting career spanned 78 years, died at his home in Mosman.

Born to British parents, and raised at Rich Avon and Donald, during hard times, Bob was twelve when his family walked off the Soldier Settlement farm at Rich Avon, at the beginning of World War II.

In his own words, he “couldn’t adapt to schooling, and after trying two more schools in Melbourne, went to work as a panel operator with Radio Station 3XY, Melbourne”.

From there he found his way into broadcasting — a career that began in 1942, and ended in October, 2020.

Unparallelled career

Jake Challenger, “Take 2 Media” publisher and content director, writes that “Bob Rogers’s retirement marks the end of a career that remains unparallelled in the radio history books …”

Having begun his radio life with 3XY in 1942, Bob moved on to a Hobart station on a weekly wage of £8, working six days a week as an announcer, including presenting racing on Saturdays.

Soon he was given permission to start a Sunday afternoon music program, playing new records given to him by American sailors coming off ships from America.

Sponsors came in, but when he asked for either a pay rise of Saturdays off, he was rejected. He resigned, and started a similar music program on Brisbane’s 4BH in 1950.

In 1957, Bob discovered the Slim Dusty song “Pub With No Beer” and was the first DJ in Australia to play the song and catapult it to number one on the charts. He became successful, and subsequently presented Australia’s first Top 40 show on 2UE from 1958 to 1962. He was Australia’s top radio DJ for the next 8 years.

“Beatles” Tour

In 1962 he joined 2SM, which jumped to number one. In 1964, Bob was chosen to represent 2SM on “The Beatles’” tour through Europe, Asia and Australia. He was subsequently nicknamed “the fifth Beatle”.

He returned to 2UE and presented his morning radio show with a new format of provocative commentary, gossip and music. His program became popular amongst interview-hungry artists.

In 1976, he wrote “Rock and Roll Australia”, a book about the birth of the Australian rock industry. In 1982, he started a chain of women’s dress shops.

In November 1995, he accepted John Singleton’s offer and joined Sydney radio station 2CH. On February 21, 2007, according to the Nielsen radio ratings survey, Bob Rogers’s morning show became the fourth most heard radio program in Sydney in that particular timeslot, by beating John Laws of 2UE into fifth place. It is generally much more difficult for an easy listening station in Sydney to achieve a greater audience share than a talkback station. Overall, 2CH has overtaken 2UE to claim sixth place.

After suffering a stroke while on air in 2018, Bob announced in November 2018 that he would stop presenting his morning program. He continued presenting his “Reminiscing” program on Saturdays until October 3, 2020, when he finally retired.

Bob is survived by his wife, Jenny, their four daughters and Bob’s son.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 4 June 2024.