2HD
 |
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| City | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Newcastle RA1 |
| Branding | 2HD |
| Slogan | Newcastle's Home of News & Talk |
| Frequency | 1143 kHz AM |
| Translator(s) | 97.5 FM Port Stephens |
| First air date | 27 January 1925 |
| Format | News talk, classic hits |
| Language(s) | English |
| Audience share | 10.5% (7 August 2015, GfK) |
| Power | 2 kW |
| Callsign meaning |
2 - New South Wales Hugh Douglas |
| Affiliations | Super Radio Network (AM Network) |
| Owner |
Broadcast Operations Group (2HD Broadcasters Pty Ltd) |
| Sister stations | 105.3 New FM |
| Website | Official website |
2HD is an Australian radio station in New South Wales. Owned and operated as part of the Super Radio Network of stations, it currently broadcasts a news talk and classic hits format to Newcastle, New South Wales and the surrounding Hunter region. First broadcast on 27 January 1925, it was established by founder Hugh Douglas - from which the station derives its name - and is based in studios in Sandgate alongside sister station New FM.
2HD began broadcasting on 27 January 1925, a day after Sydney's 2UE began operations. The station's call sign are the initials of the founder, Hugh (known as Harry) Douglas, not "Hunter District" as commonly believed. Douglas was a keen amateur radio enthusiast for some years prior to 1925, and an Alderman on the Newcastle City Council from 1919 to 1922. Harry's full name was Hugh Alexander McKay Douglas. He was also the first person to own a sulky and car tyre (retreading) business in Newcastle as well as having the first bowser petrol station in Newcastle. He was a man ahead of his time.
The station was originally in the suburb of Hamilton, New South Wales, but moved to the corner of Darby and King Streets (to his tyre business address)soon after. Douglas sold the station to William Johnston in 1928, who sold the station to the 'Airsales Broadcasting Company' two years later in 1930. Airsales owned the company for 10 years, and was responsible for the move to its landmark studio building in Sandgate, which was 2HD's home for nearly 50 years. Although the building itself is very different, the middle section of the building is still the 1931 building.
Under controversial circumstances during World War II, 2HD was closed in 1941, under the National Security Regulations. At the time, around 25 staff were employed by the station, and stories claimed that the station's owners were sending covert messages, based on the timing of the music being played etc. 2HD remained silent until near the end of the war when the Australian Labor Party and the Labor Council of New South Wales bought the station, and resumed transmissions on 15 January 1945. One of 2HD's notable personalities of the 1930s was Uncle Rex Sinclair, who continued to perform on local radio and stage until shortly before his death in 2001.
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