BROADFOOT, Elsie Margaret (1897-1965)
Journalist and Radio Announcer
Elsie Margaret Broadfoot was a radio announcer and journalist in Wollongong from 1943 until the 1950s. She joined radio station 2WL in 1943 and presented two programmes daily, Women’s from 9.15 a.m. to noon, and Chatterbox Corner each afternoon. Margaret, as she prefered to be known, also managed the Friendship Club which at its peak had a membership of over 4,000, The Friendship Club was a local version of similar radio clubs aimed at women and children that were popular throughout the 1930s and into the 1950s. During World War 2, the 2WL Friendship Club raised funds to support soldiers in action and the war effort generally. After the war, the focus shifted to the social welfare of women in the local community. The Friendship Club was established in 1938 and managed initially by Ann Nalor before becoming the responsibility of Nanette Young until 1943.
Margaret was well-known in the Wollongong area and a member of various associations including the Soroptomists Club. She was often asked to officiate at events invloving women. After leaving 2WL, she wrote Margaret's Column during the 1950s for the Illawarra Mercury . Her columns were confined to reporting the social activities of local community members. She often mentioned conditions in local hospitals especially those caring for the aged and urged people to visit those without family.
Born Elsie Margaret Baddock in 1897 atSydney, she married Cuthbert Browning Pearson at Vaucluse in 1920. Cuthbert had enlisted in World War 1, was awarded the Military Medal, wounded and gassed, and then discharged in 1918 as medically unfit. He died at Brewarrina in February 1922. Margaret remarried in 1928 to Spencer William Broadfoot and they lived initially in Parkes where Margaret was an announcer on 2PK the local radio station. The Broadfoots moved to Wollongong in 1943 and lived at 11 Brownlee St, Managerton until Spencer died in August 1965. Margaret died in December of the same year.
| Margaret Broadfoot resignation from 2WL | |
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