The men who manned the coastal radio stations on remote outposts of north Queensland and the Torres Strait during World War II were employees of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited (AWA). They worked under difficult conditions. Repairs for old and obsolete radio equipment which constantly failed in the humid environment were a major concern. Without access to spare parts the operators would improvise with scrap material and be back on air relaying messages to and from the war zone to bases in the south.

Cooktown Coastal Radio—call sign VIC—occupied a ridge below the Grassy Hill lighthouse overlooking the Coral Sea, and was constructed around two large brick and reinforced concrete buildings. Each contained three rooms with one building providing space for the radio office and the other containing a battery charging room. Nearby a solid timber mast for radio transmission, towered about 60 metres, secured to the ground with steel guy wires.