Electric Utilities Supply Co.
605 George Street, Sydney, NSW (1915 -1936)

Radio House Pty. Ltd
296 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW (1936 - 1971)

In 1915 Cecil Vincent “Pa” Stevenson (1878 – 1963) imported electrical parts and started the Electric Utilities Supply Co., in George Street selling electrical wares[1].

In the early 1920’s the company started selling radio parts and advertised as “Radio House” [2]. By the late 1920’s he was conducting wireless test transmissions from his home & shop.[3]

Company changed to Radio House Pty. Ltd. in July 1936.[4]
The company traded as an electrical and radio retailer until 1971.

First Commercial Broadcast Station 2UE

Stevenson was granted the first ‘B’ class radio licence, which enabled him to broadcast programs publicly in 1925. ‘B’ stations have to generate their own revenue through advertising and not from license fees. On the 26 January 1925, he started transmitting as 2EU (Electric Utilities), the country's first commercial radio station, from his living room in his Maroubra home. 2EU sounded like a birdcall when spoken on air so he changed it to 2UE.

He built the 250 Watt transmitter and suspended an aerial on wooden poles in his back yard.[3]

In his final broadcast, Stevenson said people thought he was crazy for this venture and though it was hard work to begin with, he managed to convince companies of the publicity value of radio.[5]

Radiovision

In 1930, through Cecil Stevenson, 2UE experimented with sending pictures by radio using “Radiovision” or mechanical television. The experiments were short-lived due to the lack of receivers to pick up the transmissions.

[1] The Sun (NSW) Jul 16, 1915, page 8.
[2] Australasian Wireless Review, Apr 1923, page 8.
[3] When Radio Was the Cat's Whiskers, By Bernard Harte
[4] The Sun (NSW) Jul 15, 1936, page 6.
[5] The Dictionary of Sydney; https://dictionaryofsydney.org/person/stevenson_cecil_vincent_pa