Adelaide’s Mix 102.3 has been among the radio stations getting up to April Fool’s Day mischief, with Hayley and Max in the Morning’s Hayley Pearson accused of committing the cardinal sin of driving on the local busway known as the O-Bahn.
Co-host Max Burford revealed to Hayley on air this morning that there was a photo doing the rounds online and on social media platforms of a Mix 102.3 branded van, which had crashed on O-Bahn.
Hayley immediately said “I don’t want to talk about this. I feel so stupid that this happened. I am not ready. I don’t want to talk about it on the radio.”
It was alleged that Hayley was in the Mix van when, at the Klemzig Interchange Station, she accidentally took a wrong turn, panicked and then ended up on the O-Bahn onramp.
When a bus approached from behind, she couldn’t turn or reverse back.
But it was all an April Fool’s Day prank, and South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens was in on it.
The Commissioner went on air this morning to decide whether Hayley should keep her licence.
He explained “Hayley, you are looking at a breach of the road rules for not paying attention due attention and without paying due care, this is a serious offence.”
And then, the clincher:
“After a thorough investigation on 1 April 2025… this is an April Fools gotcha moment!”
Sydney’s Gold 101.7 also got into the April Fool’s Day spirit, with brekky hosts Jonesy & Amanda delivered some special “assorted” doughnuts.
The secret ingredient? Vegemite!
Whilst SA’s Power FM tried to slip this through the net:
Famous radio station April Fool’s Day pranks from years gone by include:
The Great Wasp Swarm.
In 1949, New Zealand radio host Phil Shone told listeners that a huge swarm of wasps was heading towards Auckland. He urged them to wear their socks on the outside of their pants when they left for work.
Hundreds of people rocked up to the office this way, only to discover it was all a prank.
Big Ben Goes Digital.
In 1980, it was reported via the BBC that Big Ben was going digital, with the hands of the famous clock to be given away to the first four listeners who rang in.
Fondue Hot Springs.
In 1983, America’s National Public Radio Network ran a segment about ‘the last surviving spring of natural fondue cheese in the United States.’
Located in Wisconsin, NRP said that for years the fondue springs had been a ‘point of pilgrimage for cheese communicants,’ but the famous Fondue Pocket was shrinking, and drastic steps needed to be taken, or the cheese would soon be gone.
Listeners were told a highly trained force of cheese rangers would be deployed to patrol the fondue pocket.
Take This Job and Shove It
In 1986, Florida-based country music station DJ Charlie Bee locked himself in the studio while repeatedly playing Johnny Paycheck’s ‘Take This Job and Shove It,’ telling listeners he was fed up with being underpaid and would keep playing the song until his employers gave him a wage rise.
Police eventually arrived and frogmarched him out of the building. But it turned out that they, too, were in on the elaborate prank.
KISW Format Change
In 1991, US rock station KISW changed its format to ‘classical rock’ for a day, promising a no-repeat Monday, in which ‘You won’t hear the same sonata twice.’
Howard Stern Replaced
In 2004, fans of radio shock jock Howard Stern were told he’d been replaced by two DJs who promised “all the fun without the filth.”
But Stern would soon return, telling listeners “We are back for anybody who was stupid enough to fall for that. Check you calendar, people.”