Radio Waitomo 1ZW was a radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 that broadcast on 1170AM in Te Kuiti

Te Kuiti

Te Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The station was started on 15 March 1985 by the Radio New Zealand

Radio New Zealand

Radio New Zealand is a New Zealand public service radio broadcaster and Crown entity formed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news, current affairs and arts network Radio New Zealand National and classical music and jazz network Radio New Zealand Concert with full government funding...

 Commercial network. Local content was limited to just a few hours per day, programming was shared with King Country Radio

King Country Radio

King Country Radio was a radio station in Taumarunui broadcasting on 1512AM. The station was first started in 1966 broadcasting 1520AM with the call sign 1ZU. The station moved to 1512AM in 1978 after the AM frequency spacing in New Zealand was adjusted from 10khz to 9khz...

 at other times an on air at these times branded as King Country Radio and Radio Waitomo.

The station was taken over by The Radio Network

The Radio Network

The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...

 in 1996 when the New Zealand Government sold the Radio New Zealand Commercial stations. The station then became part of the Community Radio Network

Community Radio Network

The Community Radio Network was a network of radio stations based in provincial centres across New Zealand. The network was operated by The Radio Network ....

 in 1998 with all content outside the breakfast show being fed from Taupo

Taupo

Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....

 and in 2001 part of the Classic Hits FM

Classic Hits FM

Classic Hits is an Adult Contemporary music radio network broadcasting in 25 markets throughout New Zealand, targeting 25 - 55 year olds. Its a family-focused radio network with some of New Zealand's most experienced broadcasters on air and behind the scenes. It currently has around 387,000...

network with the station name becoming Classic Hits Radio Waitomo.

Classic Hits Radio Waitomo closed down on 11 November 2003.

The Voice of Waikato/Waitomo Trust took over the station and it came back on air as The Voice of Waitomo in January 2004. The station changed back to its original name, Radio Waitomo 1ZW, on 31 July 2004.

Radio Waitomo closed down permanently in June 2005 due to lack of local support, lack of funding and poor management.