Last night, Channel Nine ran a story on Darrell Eastlake who has been battling Alzheimer’s disease and emphysema for the past year. Sadly, the disease has taken a toll on the big man and his even bigger booming voice. The prognosis is not good. Although Darrell’s situation is well known to many, the Nine story, which, understandably, concentrated on his television career, prompted us to revisit his earlier (and later) career in Radio.

In the late 1960’s Darrell Eastlake was a surfboard maker when he pioneered Surf Reports on Sydney’s 2UW, now Mix 106.5 FM.

He was soon began working full time for 4GG, now GOLD FM on, the Gold Coast. Over the next seven years in Surfers Paradise he not only co-ordinated and reported the surfwatch, he started the Gold Coast Rugby League Show.

In 1974, Darrell and his family moved back to the Central Coast, north of Sydney to join Radio 2GO Gosford, now 107.7 2GO FM. Over the following six years, he gained further experience by calling football live. In 1980 and 1981 won two National Radio Awards for Best Sporting Personality in Australia and New Zealand.

Having retired from TV and other main media, in 2004, he came out of retirement to do sports reports on breakfast Mondays and Fridays on the Central Coast’s Star 104.5 FM.

An in-depth report on Darrell’s condition in The Telegraph in July last year suggested that Darrell had been abandoned by many of his old mates, which if true, is an absolute abomination for a man who made a giant contribution to the Radio industry.

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