Starting in radio at Brisbane community station 4ZZZ-FM in 1975, Stuart Matchett became a presenter at Triple J from 1978 to 1986.
For several years during that period he hosted a weekly “Almanac” program, broadcast on Sundays, which focused on the history of postwar popular music and pop culture.
From 1989 to 2002 he was the triple j Program Director with periods as acting general manager.
Since 2002 he had been Program Director at the ABC’s DIG Internet Radio.
In a memo to ABC management and staff, Chris Scaddan, Head of Music & Creative Development, ABC wrote:
Some very sad news this afternoon. Our colleague and friend Stuart Matchett passed away last night after a battle with cancer.
Stuart was a Double J and triple j legend, starting in 1978 and working his way up as a music programmer, presenter and producer. He led the triple j team as the Network Program Director in the 90s as it expanded into a truly national network. In the 2000s, Stuart started the ABC’s first forays into digital radio, with ABC DIG, Jazz and Country.
Stuart was a huge music fan whose knowledge and passion spread over so many genres. He gave so many of us our first start at the ABC and will be remembered as a warm, funny and genuine person. Someone with a huge heart and a huge love of music.
Double J will be paying tribute to Stuart this week, playing some of his best interviews. More details to come.
Stuart was an ardent reader of radioinfo right from its beginnings as the AMT Newsletter. We now have tens of thousands of subscribers, but back in 1998, less than one year after we began publishing, Stuart became subscriber number 638, and kept up his subscription and receipt of every weekly newsletter we ever sent since then.
Founding editor Steve Ahern says he received many emails from Stuart over the years, filling us in on happenings at double/triple j and taking us to task where he thought our reporting was not up to scratch.
“Stuart was a long time radio colleague and friend. He will be missed,” says Ahern.
We will share memorial details once we have them.