Mr Barlin, who died on Sunday aged 100 years and 7 months, earned the nickname "Mr Broadcast" for his tireless work in the city which he first reached early in 1933.

As a raw 16 year-old he came off a dairy farm on the NSW north coast, to be employed as a broadcast cadet at the fledgling radio station 2CA. Within three days he was running the daily broadcast single-handed, from warm-up through announcing and programming, to close-down at night.

He had planned to join the RAAF at the outbreak of World War II, when his boss Jack Ryan refused to release him from a reserved occupation. It transpired that Ryan himself had enlisted, and Barlin was soon to head the station. Under his stewardship 2CA grew to become the jewel in the Macquarie Network's regional crown, and a training ground for some of the best technicians and on-air personalities in the country.

All through this period Barlin was responsible for the national broadcasts of successive prime ministers, mostly taking equipment to The Lodge or Parliament House each week. He became the familiar of the Lyons family, of Menzies, Fadden, Curtin, Chifley, and Menzies yet again. Although no Labor supporter his heart always lay with Chifley, who he regarded as one of the least affected and truest men he ever met.

In 1956 he became restless when the new wonder of television reached Sydney and Melbourne. Against all advice and many odds, he began quietly manoeuvring for a Canberra television licence. By the end of 1959 he was submitting an application in partnership with Arthur Shakespeare, then a major shareholder and managing editor of The Canberra Times. It was through the dogged work of these two men that CTC-7 came into being.

Behind his central achievements, George Barlin's role in the burgeoning capital has been pivotal in many areas. He contributed to the direction and successes of multiple company boards in the years prior and subsequent to retirement.

He and wife Iris both lived to celebrate their 100th birthdays early this year, and a short time later their 78th wedding anniversary. He has survived her death in June by only three months, and is in turn survived by four sons.