lit a candle 2h agoFound a clip of him once while researching outback radio for a project. "Came straight out of the shearing shed into the radio station with no training whatsoever." Never forgot that line.
Their story
Allan Wallett was an Australian radio presenter who spent more than four decades as the breakfast voice of Griffith and the Riverina on 2RG. A former shearer with no formal broadcasting training, he became one of the most recognisable figures in regional New South Wales, known for his yarns, weather…
Allan Wallett was an Australian radio presenter who spent more than four decades as the breakfast voice of Griffith and the Riverina on 2RG. A former shearer with no formal broadcasting training, he became one of the most recognisable figures in regional New South Wales, known for his yarns, weather reports, race tips, country music and countless sayings. He died on 5 October 2026, aged 82.
He was born in Orange, New South Wales, in 1944, and his family moved to Yanco when he was a toddler. His father was a shearing contractor, and Allan followed him into the shearing sheds, starting work at 15. He also drove trotters and later qualified as a wool classer, combining his love of horses with a working life rooted in the Riverina.
Radio came almost by accident. In 1974 he was asked to fill in at Leeton, and later at Griffith, and the temporary stint became one of the longest careers in regional Australian radio. He told The Area News in 2014 that he had come straight out of the shearing shed into the radio station with no training whatsoever, and had always felt he had to give it 110 per cent. His weekday country music program earned him induction into the Australian Country Music Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2004. He was also a familiar voice calling harness racing at Griffith, Leeton and Junee, and appeared on local television.
Colleagues described him as an ordinary Australian who made listeners feel they were having breakfast with a good mate. He was constantly asked to help with charity events and fundraisers and rarely said no. Yet away from the microphone he was a private man who disliked crowds and was happiest at home. He stepped away from breakfast radio in 2016, returned to the airwaves for 2RG's 85th anniversary in 2021, and kept up his involvement in harness racing and his love of fishing on the Darling River near Tilpa.
He died in the early hours of Monday 5 October 2026, prompting tributes from across the Riverina and the radio and racing communities. He was survived by his partner of 32 years, Ffiona Beverley, his children Julie, Rodney and Darren, and six grandchildren.
Biography adapted from Region Riverina (Oliver Jacques, 8 October 2026) and The Area News.
Photos
1Allan Wallett behind the microphone at 2RG
by People Forever
