Queen of country leaves legacy at ONE FM

Mrs Hunter struggles to hold back her tears as she reminisces about fond memories of being on air with Ms Mathieson.

After 15 years of presenting at ONE FM and training exactly 103 people in radio, Mrs Hunter is moving to Bundaberg in Queensland.

Mrs Hunter has presented on almost every time slot and program, and has helped develop youth and ethnic programs.

“This place has been like my second home,” she said.

“I remember sitting here in this studio and I was sweating, shaking, I was a wreck and now I sit here and I just come in and do my show.

“ONE FM is the reason that I have got the confidence that I have and the ability I have to communicate with people. I was very shy, and people don’t believe it when I tell them, but I was.”

Mrs Hunter said she was working at Verney Rd School when someone told her she had a good voice and that she should get into radio.

“I thought oh my god, no way,” she said.

She found ONE FM and started being mentored by Rod Sheppard and David ‘Foxy’ Fox.

“David Fox said to me I could speak underwater with marbles in my mouth, and told me I would be something special at ONE FM from day dot,” Mrs Hunter said.

“That was special to me because he was a special man.”

Mr Fox reached out to Ms Mathieson and asked her to help Mrs Hunter with the breakfast show.

“The rest is history,” Ms Mathieson said.

“She’s like my other daughter.”

Mrs Hunter said they had become like best friends.

“I love her,” she said.

“I’ve not believed in myself much in life, and when I got behind the microphone people started ringing me and telling me I had a nice voice.

“I knew what people wanted, and that was country music.”

John Williamson, singer of country anthem True Blue, once crowned Mrs Hunter the “queen of country” in an interview and the name stuck.

“Over the journey I’ve been so lucky because I’ve interviewed many musicians from John Paul Young to Beccy Cole, and seen a lot of concerts,” she said.

Mrs Hunter said Ms Mathieson introduced her to British country artist Ollie Austin, and she began playing him on air, starting a “bit of a craze”.

“People to this day still ring me and thank me for getting them on to Ollie Austin, and I was fortunate enough a few years ago to receive a card from Ollie Austin thanking me, which was pretty huge because he’s in England,” she said.

After nervous beginnings, Mrs Hunter now finds talking on air comes naturally.

“That’s why I found the hardest thing to teach in training was how to plan a show, because I don’t,” she said.

Mrs Hunter said she was still in contact with many of her students and was paying close attention to their journeys, with some going on to have successful careers in the media.

She said many people just needed someone to believe in them.

“They come on air and just shine, and I’m so proud of all of them,” Mrs Hunter said.

“If you put yourself out of your comfort zone, you will be amazed what you can do.”

Mrs Hunter said she had so many people to thank, including but not limited to current ONE FM operations manager Jason Welsh, former operations manager Graeme Macartney, Ms Mathieson, her former students and mentors.

Mrs Hunter has already made contact with her new local radio station in Bundaberg, Coral Coast FM.

“And funny thing, Di Hunter now has to get trained,” she said, laughing.

It represents a new challenge for Mrs Hunter, potentially a new system to learn and a new community to connect with.

But ONE FM will remain in her heart for ever.

“The best times of my life have been here,” she said, finally failing to hold back the tears.

“Thank you so much for listening over the years, and hopefully some of you will follow me to Coral Coast FM on the world-wide web.”

As all her listeners would know, there was only one way Mrs Hunter could close the chapter on ONE FM, or any of her shows.

“Give yourself a hug, from me to you,” she said.

You can tune in to Di Hunter’s final show from noon on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14, on ONE FM 98.5.