All of us at Magic 1278 are saddened by the passing of radio veteran Clark Sinclair.  

Clark was a friend, mentor and former colleague, responsible for helping many of us to get a start in the business we love so much.  Clark’s passion and enthusiasm for radio rubbed off on us all, and our careers benefited from his help, advice, tuition and guidance.

We will miss his eager calls on ratings day wanting to know how we went. 

Clark Sinclair (1936-2010)

Melbourne radio man Clark Sinclair passed away in hospital on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was aged 73. Clark David Sinclair was born in Bendigo, where his father was a dance band master, and in charge of the Bendigo Fire Brigade Band and the Bendigo Municipal Band. Clark inherited this love of music, and added a passion for radio, when he came as a youngster to Melbourne for treatment for an eye infection, that left him with just 20 per cent vision. Part of the treatment involved a stay at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, and Clark was fascinated by the RGH in-house station run for the benefit of military patients. It gave him the idea for a community radio station, and the St Kilda Council came to the party by installing an underground cable to each of the local homes in the 10 blocks surrounding the Sinclair family home in Grosvenor St, East St Kilda.

Aged just 19, Clark Sinclair went to air on March 27, 1954, with Radio 3SA to a potential audience of 3000 people, with programs broadcast 8am-Midnight three days a week. Sinclair teamed with radio coach Lee Murray to provide tuition for radio aspirants, and the Radio 3SA School included students including Mal Walden, Greg Evans, Ward Everaadt, Stephen Quartermain and Derek Guille.

Clark Sinclair gained experience on a number of Victorian radio stations: he started by presenting the Factory Favourites program on 3AK with young presenter, Ian ‘Nicko’ Nicholls. His experience widened with work at 3XY, voicing commercials, plus other work for radio stations at Warrnambool, Warragul, 3CV at Maryborough, and 2QN at Deniliquin. He was fascinated with the close-to-themicrophone technique of ‘Nicky’ (Clifford Nicholls Whitta) at 3UZ, and was an in-studio spectator as ‘Nick’ worked with a young Graham Kennedy.

Clark Sinclair was an enthusiastic supporter of ‘conversational radio’, and showed this with his long-running Remember When program on 3AW, broadcast from 1977-1985 with Neville Wragg. He continued his association with 3AW over the years, contributing to programs hosted by Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady, Keith McGowan and Alan Pearsall. In later years he became a theatre critic, particularly on the Pearsall show, and was a regular guest on the Yvonne Lawrence programs on both 3AW and 3AK.

Clarke Sinclair also did shifts on the then- ’Magic 693’, also enthusiastically contributing to the 3CR community radio station programs including Swing and Sway, Steam Radio and Nostalgia Unlimited, associated with presenters including Ralph Knight, Rod Roach and Jannine Bryden. He enjoyed theatre and cabaret opening nights, and publicists assisted by obtaining front row seats where he could view the acts using powerful opera glasses.

Clark was a strong supporter of local theatre, and enjoyed interviewing Production Company chair Jeanne Pratt each year, to hear of the new season’s shows. Sinclair was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1981 for services to broadcasting. He was presented with the medal by State Governor, Sir Brian Murray.

Clark Sinclair continued his radio tuition, also lecturing in the City at nights. Students were encouraged to operate panels, write copy, prepare and present shows on 3SA.

He offered frank appraisals of students’ attitude, voice and on-air potential. Only those with serious potential were accepted for training. About 10 students at a time were coached, and Sinclair used his wide network of radio industry friends to help obtain jobs for young people.
3SA students prepared to work hard for a radio industry career, were encouraged to make programs to a rigid format, with a “warts and all” CD ‘air-check’ sent to country stations asan audition. Many students obtained work on FM stations, with older candidates winning AM station work. These included Craig Huggins (now at Gold FM), and Jane Holmes (Magic 1278 and 3AW). Others included John Deeks (Channel 7), Dan Lonegan (ABC) and Tony Pilkington (5AA Adelaide).

Clark Sinclair maintained his enthusiasm for radio in his later years, and enjoyed catching up with friends at the twice-a-year Survivors Club reunion meetings. “Radio today is very exciting,” he said in the months prior to his passing. “The opportunity is there for the real communicators to make their mark. The strict regimentation of formats has evolved into personality. “What you say and how you say it is vital and shapes every format in radio today. I believe that it is important that individual personality is the back bone to all formats.”

Courtesy of Jock's Journal.