Alfred Traeger
TRAEGER, Alfred Herman (Alf), Ass Dip Eng (Mech + Elec), MIREAust, OBE (1895-1980)
Traeger was born in his parents’ house at Glenlee, near Dimboola, Victoria, on August 2, 1895, the son of farmer Johann Herbert Traeger and his wife Louise Pauline Traeger nee Zerna. His German born grandparents had settled in South Australia in 1848. In 1864, his grandfather, Ernest Gottlieb Traeger, became a part owner of 2,000 acres of land at Dalkey near Balaklava, 90 kilometres north of Adelaide.
In 1902, the family returned to his grandfather’s property in South Australia, living at Balaklava. The grandfather’s property was divided between Traeger’s father and Traeger’s uncle. Traeger was educated at the Balaklava Public School and later at the Martin Luther School in Adelaide.
In 1911 he studied at the Adelaide School of Mines Preparatory School.
From 1912, he studied mechanical and electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines and Industries graduating with an Associate Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 1915. He then worked in the Adelaide Tramways Workshop and later in the Post Master General’s Department as a mechanic and telegraphist. In 1923, he was working for Hannan Brothers, in Wakefield Street, Adelaide, undertaking electrical and generator repairs for motor vehicles.
In 1926, he obtained his Amateur Operators Proficiency Certificate and was engaged by the Rev. John Flynn from the Australian Inland Mission as his assistant.
Traeger transformed the lives of many outback Australians through his development of the famous ‘pedal radio’ an essential underpinning of the successful operation of the Flying Doctor Service established by the Rev. John Flynn and a contributor to the success of the School of the Air. Intrigued by Marconi’s work Traeger became an amateur radio operator (VK5AX) and formed a company, Traeger Transceiver Pty Ltd.
His genius was to develop, in 1928, a portable, high frequency radio transceiver that could be used by non-technical people. The sets were cheap, durable, small and easy to operate. Bicycle pedals drove a generator which produced about 20 watts at around 200 volts.
In 1931 Traeger went on to develop a Morse code keyboard which enabled people to send perfect code over the radio regardless of their skill level. In the mid-1930s, voice transmissions became increasingly common. The first pedal sets, introduced into Queensland in 1929, revolutionised communications in outback Australia and linked people with essential medical, educational and social support - reducing the sense of loneliness so much a feature of outback life.
Traeger was an active Member of the Institution of Radio Engineers Australia.
He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire on January 1, 1944 for his contribution to designing and making wireless sets for the Australian Inland Mission.
On November, 11, 1937, Traeger married fellow member of the Adelaide Lutheran Society, Olga Emilie Schodde, in the Bethlehem Church, Adelaide. They had two daughters, Pauline and Anne. His first wife died on August 17, 1948. He married secondly, on August 2, 1956, Joyce Edna Mibus (nee Traeger and a distant relation) at the Lutheran Church, Colonel Light Gardens, Adelaide. They had a son, Michael. His wife had two daughters from her previous marriage.
He was added to the Engineers Australia South Australian Hall of Fame in 2009.
Traeger died on July 31, 1980, at Rosslyn Park, Adelaide, after a six year battle with cancer. He was survived by his second wife Joyce, his three children and his two step daughters.
References:
Adelaide Register, 16.12.1911, p. 9.
Adelaide Advertiser, 10.12.1915, p. 10.
Adelaide Mail, 17.3.1928, p. 3.
Adelaide News, 11.9.1937, p. 5.
Balaklava Producer, 5.7.1947, p. 5.
Engineers Australia South Australian Hall of Fame Biography 2009
John Healy, Editor, S.A.’s Greats, The Men and Women of the North Terrace Plaques, Historical Society of South Australia, 2003.
Fred McKay, Traeger - The Pedal Radio Man, Boolarong Press, Brisbane, 1995.
Engineers Australia South Australian Hall of Fame content augmented by Chris Fitzhardinge May 27, 2026.
