{"id":52053,"date":"2025-08-08T04:29:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T04:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/52053\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T04:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T04:29:13","slug":"remembering-crockie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/52053\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Crockie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIan Crockett. Image: Facebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

If it weren\u2019t for Ian Crockett, some of Australia\u2019s most successful radio talent would not be on air today.<\/p>\n

This week, our industry is mourning the loss of a true legend and beloved character \u2013 the man affectionately known to all who worked with him as \u2018Crockie\u2019 \u2013 following his death at the age of 86.<\/p>\n

Crockie was the lifeblood of Wangaratta\u2019s 1566 3NE, which recently transitioned to the FM band and rebranded as STAR 92.1. Every square inch of that red brick building on Templeton Street, he knew like the back of his hand.<\/p>\n

Just seventeen years old when he joined the station in January 1955, Crockie went on to spend his entire working life with North East Broadcasters \u2013 predominately as a technician but also as a fill-in announcer and later, station manager.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You never forget the person who gave you your chance in radio, and Patrina Jones from Gold 104.3\u2019s The Christian O\u2019Connell Show is grateful she recently got to express that to Crockie in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in the days when typewriters sat atop desks next to ashtrays and dreams loomed large, especially for a bug-eyed young woman who dreamt of a career in broadcasting,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we celebrate a life that breathed oxygen into many successful careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Smooth 91.5 Breakfast host Mike Perso also has Crockie to thank for giving him his start in radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no experience and no training but he gave me a go,\u201d says Perso, who has two standout memories of Crockie: \u201cHis pokey back office with its always overflowing ashtray and the time we tried talkback.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe created some form of tape delay system which involved a couple of reel-to-reel machines in the control room connected by about 15 feet of tape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine the sound quality after running that for a three hour shift? It didn\u2019t last very long but as always he was ready to give it a red hot go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ACE Radio Network Chief Marketing Officer Grant Johnstone was another to thrive under Crockie\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re younger, you don\u2019t always realise the impact certain people have on your life,\u201d says Johnstone. \u201cIt\u2019s not until later in life that you truly appreciate how deeply they\u2019ve influenced you, both professionally and personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIan Crockett was that person for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis passion for broadcasting, along with his calm, caring, and nurturing nature, left a lasting impression on everyone around him. He inspired so many of us to take care in the work we do, and to care about the people we work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only aspire to carry myself with the same integrity and generosity that Crockie brought to our industry every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will miss him greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crockie was central to the radio careers of many, including this writer. In fact, if not for Crockie, I would probably not have the privilege of putting together this tribute to the great man.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m eternally grateful that he also decided to take a punt on me. RIP Crockie.<\/p>\n

*Images: ARN, NOVA Entertainment and ACE Radio Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ian Crockett. Image: Facebook If it weren\u2019t for Ian Crockett, some of Australia\u2019s most successful radio talent would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-52053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}