The radio industry has been dealt a heavy blow as Bill Caralis, Super Radio Network chairman, died last Friday with the Greek immigrant leaving behind an immense legacy in the audio medium.
Caralis, the founder and chairman of Broadcast Operations Group (branded as Super Radio Network) which operated 42 stations in NSW and Queensland, died of a heart attack aged 81.
The radio giant first entered the industry in 1982, according to a post on radionews.com.au, with Caralis having come to Sydney from Greece as a child with his family in 1945 and worked as a young man at his father’s green grocer shop in the Queen Victoria Building.
He delivered fruit and vegetables along George street by horse and cart with his father.
Caralis also worked as a developer in the building trade, building a small shopping centre in Marrickville as well as the Camperdown Cellars which, with the help of his wife Pam, he built into one of the largest import and retail liquor outlets in Australia.
Tributes have come from numerous stations of his company, praising the impact he had on the industry.
“Mr Caralis maintained a close connection with his staff and was deeply invested in his stations and the people that worked for him,” Toowoomba’s 4WK station posted on its social media page.
“His love and passion for radio was inspirational and all of us here at 4WK will miss him greatly.”
Gavin Flanagan, the general manager at Wave FM 96.5, admitted his difficulty on how to best describe Caralis, whom he has spent the best part of the last 30 years working for.
“I’m struggling for the right words to describe a giant of our industry who, despite his polarising nature, was always very good to me and my family,” Flanagan wrote on social media.
“My deepest condolences to Pam, Despina, George, John and families, as well as the many incredibly loyal former colleagues of mine who have been by his side for many years.”
Caralis is survived by his wife of 60 years, Pam, his children John, George and Despina as well as a number of grandchildren.
