History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/William Trevor Watkins

William Trevor Watkins

Potted biography:

William Trevor Watkins | Watkins, William Trevor "Trevor", "Watty" [1] - 1899(Tas)-1931(Tas) - Licences: T336 Hobart (1920-1921); 7AA Hobart (1922-1925); 7DX Hobart (1925-1931) - Qualifications: AOCP 107, 1925, No. ?? in Tas - amateur operator, amateur broadcaster - PMGD withdrew 7AA callsign for their own use, electrician (Zinc Co., Hobart, 1922), wireless expert (Medhurst & Sons, Hobart, 1925) - Electoral Rolls: electrician (West Hobart, 1922-1928) - passed too soon

A comprehensive biography of William Trevor Watkins has not yet been prepared, however the following resources have been assembled in preparation:

• Research - William Trevor Watkins - Summary of research to date

• Transcriptions and Notes - William Trevor Watkins - More than 220 transcriptions

• Photos, QSL cards and other graphics - William Trevor Watkins - Nothing uploaded as yet, but QSLs for both 7AA and 7DX held

• Incubator of Wikipedia Article on William Trevor Watkins - Coming real soon now!

Pending further progress on the foregoing, the following obituary in the Hobart Mercury for William Trevor Watkins touches briefly on how much Watty contributed to the development of wireless in Tasmania in the 1920s and how well-loved he was in the amateur radio community

OBITUARY. THE LATE MR. TREVOR WATKINS, AMATEUR WIRELESS EXPERIMENTER. With the passing of Mr. Trevor Watkins, whose death occurred on Tuesday last after a long illness, Tasmania lost her foremost amateur wireless experimenter. He was the first person in this State to broadcast music by wireless, from his private transmitting station in Hobart, and for several years devoted himself to the study of radio and the development of radio ideas, many of which have been adopted by fellow experimenters who were in communication with him here and from other parts of the world. His special branch of study was wireless telegraphy, and as an amateur operator his familiar call sign, "7DX," was known in every part of the world where radio amateurs are established. Many of the formal acknowledgements of receipt of his transmissions (of which he possessed hundreds) testified to the excellence of his work at the Morse key. It was quite a usual thing for him to have chats almost daily with fellow experimenters in several continents, his opinion on the adjustment of transmitting apparatus being much sought after. In a number of successful tests his work was highly appreciated by the signalling section of the Royal Australian Air Force, his station in Hobart being the section guard station for this State. In 1925, in competition with a large number of others in Australia and New Zealand, he had the honour of winning the trans-Pacific tests for amateur radio operators. During the severe floods in 1929, when departmental telegraph lines were out of action between Hobart and Launceston, his private station was on the air almost continuously for two days and two nights, and for the greater part of the time Mr. Watkins, though a sick man, stuck to his instruments with very short intervals for sleep, receiving and despatching many thousands of words of press news. A most unassuming man, with a very genial disposition, ever ready to pass on his knowledge, to fellow experimenters, "Watty," as he was called by radio friends here and in different parts of the world, will be much missed. Telegrams of sympathy from the divisions of wireless institutes on the mainland received by his relatives all bear testimony to his sterling worth. Young men of his type can ill be spared. At the graveside at Cornelian Bay yesterday, where the funeral service was conducted by the Rev. J. W. Barrow, a large gathering of representatives of departmental, commercial, and amateur wireless bodies paid their last respects to the deceased, the pall-bearers being well-known amateur wireless operators.