Telegraph Message Recorder

Australia was a relatively early adopter of telegraph technology from the mid-1850s, despite its low population densities and the difficult conditions sometimes encountered in laying lines. The first line was completed in South Australia in November 1855, and during the same month Charles Todd arrived in the Colony as the Superintendent of Telegraphs. Critical to progress in South Australia was a connection to Melbourne and in 1857 Todd made arrangements with Samuel McGowan to make this possible. The Adelaide to Melbourne connection was begun in April the same year and completed in July 1858. However, Todd also had his sights set on something bigger. The Australian Overland Telegraph Line is noted as one of the great engineering feats of 19th century Australia. Following intense speculation and competition between the colonies, South Australia was successful in securing the line which would connect Australia with the rest of the world. Todd designed the line to follow the route taken by John McDouall Stuart’s successful 1862 journey across the continent. On 22 August 1872, the Overland Telegraph was finally completed, running from Port Augusta to Darwin, it connected to the line at Java which allowed transmission onto Europe. The Overland Telegraph changed the way Australians communicated with the rest of the world and each other. It made communication between Australia and the rest of the world possible in hours rather than weeks or months. Telegraph services declined in usage following the end of World War II due to the increase in popularity of the telephone.

This item was donated by the Postmaster General in 1912 to the Art Gallery of South Australia, and listed as a telegraph message recorder. It was later transferred to the History Trust of South Australia. Following the federation of Australia in 1901, the Postmaster-General's Department was established to administer postal and telegraphic services on a national basis. This object is part of the Historical Relics collection, which includes a number of objects relating to the telegraph in South Australia.