This site aims to record the details of the development of the telegraphic system in Australia. I hope that it can contribute to
the general understanding of the people of Australia and those overseas who have a positive feeling about this wonderful country
and its tantalising history.
Only some of the history has been recorded or analysed in the various books and articles written by various people and many of these sources are invaluable and a reflection of the professionalism of their creators.
As an example of the forsightedness and heroism of those involved at all levels in developing the first lines of Australia's telegraph system in the 1850s, the Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Darwin must rank as one of the greatest engineering feats of the world.
Think of a Government today saying to a person:
"build a line of telegraph from here to there across Australia. There is no job description but you should select some men, some horses and camels. We have no idea what is in the middle and we have little idea of what you need to survive. Kangaroo is quite tasty apparently. Don't worry about OH&S concerns and there is no environmental impact study. Just do it. The line is going to be about 2,000 miles long.
Oh - one more thing: Good Luck".
BUT - we have little idea how such a massive development which served Australia so exceptionally well for about 100 years ended.
It just sort of faded out of consciousness - as did so many of the telegraphic undertakings - large or small.
There was no closing ceremony. Some people remember that "we had not really used that line for a few years - don't know what happened".
People visiting Bondi Beach or Cottlesloe Beach don't know they are probably treading on a telegraph cable leading to the deep ocean. Where was your nearest telegraph station?
Amongst the many details given in this website are:
- the construction of the telegraph lines in each Colony and between Colonies;
- the opening of Telegraph Offices in cities and remote rural areas;
- the use of forms to send and receive messages;
- the special use of forms in War - to inform people that War had commenced
or to send information of fatalities to families; - the use of telegrams for happy occasions - including telegrams from the Queen
to celebrate a citizen turning 100 years of age; - the use of special date stamps and hand stamps for telegraphic tasks;
- the development of cable and wireless links to places overseas
- etc etc
All of these stories - and a host more - can be found among the 1,500+ pages on this site. To access any information:
RECENT NEW ADDITIONS - as of 13 May 2026.
The computer problems are in the process of being fixed. A lot of the site may be operational by 21 May!!! Please let me know if you want to access a specific part of the site and I will see what I can do.
So much information has been uploaded in the last revision that it is impossible to list it all. Notably, check out (when possible):
- The very important cover from Taroom, Queensland of 11 January 1866 - 13 days after the Telegraph Office had opened and one day before the cover and the rest of the mail was the subject of a mail robbery.
- The earliest recorded example of the RIALTO date stamp (Melbourne) on a wonderful cover to a person who was "UNKNOWN TO THE LETTER CARRIER".
- For those who have missed the reference, tune in to your favourite Aunty at the ABC for a bit of context in terms of telegraph evolution.
- Many original Reports from all Colonies (about 30+) have been uploaded and access made easier. Hover over each of the main index headings at the top and the first menu item has a sub-heading for Reports.
- Not new but always fun to be up to date - check in to the Tit Bits page regularly.
- Recommended: a visit to the companion site Charity Stamps Australia. Enjoy the Queensland Essays - and especially the new large block for NSW!!! (link from first page).
Descriptions of extensive plating analyses are included for both NSW stamps and for the 1897 1d blue Victorian stamp.
To complete the story I need your assistance. Thanks to those of you who have already provided information and data which have been unobtainable elsewhere. Every little bit counts!!
Please contact me at apta42@gmail.com with stories, corrections, information about forms or your local office, etc. I will get back to you.
All suggestions welcome.
Using the site:
To find overall information there are three techniques:
- with a Windows System:
to enlarge the letters: hold Ctrl and SHIFT down at the same time and press the + button.
to make the letters smaller: only only Crtl down and press the - button. - with a Mac system:
to enlarge the letters:
to make the letters smaller:
- 1. The first approach is to use the menu at the top of each page to locate narratives, to open pages, to read telegraphic stories in old newspapers,
to read original reports and documents and to see old Offices, scenes, events, etc.
- place (don't click) your mouse/cursor above one of the components of the main menu at the top of each page to activate the primary sub-menu;
- move your cursor down this sub-menu to select a topic of interest and click that.
- Sometimes hovering the cursor above a primary sub-item will activate a secondary sub-menu - so select your topic from that.
The most commonly used secondary sub-items will relate to types of telegram forms or to features of Telegraph Offices.
You could also try calling up the overview of Telegraph Offices or the datestamps for one of the Colonies.
Most references will take you to a more detailed listing on a separate page. Do the same - find the heading you are interested in and click that. You will be redirected to that page of interest.
2. A second approach is to use the INDEX.
- To locate the INDEX, use the first main menu item "Home, Index, site details"" and go down to "Index".
Think of a topic and select the first letter of that word After you reach the spot click on the name ou were looking for.
3. A third approach is to use the search engine at the base of the Title Page (this page). Click on the hyperlink then click on Google, type in the word(s) about which your seek information then press ENTER on your keyboard.
obtaining help from words in coloured text.
- Hover over words in red to obtain an additional comment.
- Click the words in blue for hyperlinks to information elsewhere on that page or somewhere else in the site or to an external source.
If you want to return to the site from an external source, just use the back arrow in your browser.
If you want to change the text size in your viewer, do the following:
Definitions:
A "telegraph" is a system used to transmit and receive a messages over a long distance.
An "electrical telegraph system" uses electrical current and magnetism to convert codes to represent words (generally typed into the system using a key or a keyboard) into electrical impulses. These impulses are transmitted over a metallic circuit (overhead wires or underground/submarine cables) to a distant location. At the receiving end, the impulses are converted back into magnetic fields to operate a mechanical device to make a sound or operate a device converting the impulses into a written document of some type - either onto a tape or a (telegram) form.
"A friend desires us to give notice that he will ask leave at some convenient time to introduce a new word into the vocabulary. It is "telegram" instead of "telegraphic communication".
A Transmission form is a form completed by a person wanting to send a telegram to record a message.
A Delivery form is a form completed by a Telegraph Office official to record a message received at that Office from a distant Office. This form would be delivered to the person named in the message by a Messenger.
A Schedule Number is a code number used by a Central Telegram Office and a printer to track the printing of a particular form or envelope. It uniquely identifies a particular item and when it was printed.
A final definition relates to the classification and description of the various date stamps. The classification system developed for this site is described elsewhere.
The important description is for the many oval telegraph date stamps.
The approach adopted is based on the mathematical definition of an oval - not an arbitrary description which would always be imprecise.
It measures the height and width of the oval and combines these measurements in a simple calculation to determine the eccentricity of the date stamp.
Full details of classifying the circular and the oval date stamps are provided elsewhere.
Thanks to the many people who have contacted me.