SA telegraph lines

The first telegraphic line was constructed in South Australia in 1856. Further lines were constructed to the north and the south-east almost immediately and construction continued at a rapid rate to meet a range of Government economic and social policy priorities.

The construction of the telegraph lines up until about 1900 is described as follows:

Todd's overall planning had to address various objectives he had established for the development of South Australia. Some of these objectives were:

to open up telegraphic communications throughout the Colony to as many people as possible in the shortest time;
to establish telegraphic communication with other Colonies - initially with Victoria and New South Wales;
to ensure the telegraphic network he was establishing operated effectively and so incorporated alternative lines to important destinations;
to facilitate developments which would ultimately place South Australia in the best position to link with an international cable to England;
to develop telegraphic lines to the Murray River to support the very significant River-based economy;
to facilitate the development of telegraphic lines to places to help monitor South Australia's maritime security;
to support the maritime industry both for commercial reasons and for humanitarian reasons (eg shipping accidents, shipwrecks, etc).

The construction of the telegraph lines in South Australia can be analysed in terms of the broad regions of the Colony/State through which they were constructed.
These regions are shown on the two maps below and the areas are referenced with respect to the letters or the names in the Table below the maps.

To access the information for the description of the lines in a particular region or for the telegraph offices in a region:

find the letter or name in one of the two maps below relating to the region in which you are interested. Some place numbers are included on the map to help identify a region.
then consult the table below and click on the hyperlink for the lines or the telegraph offices (TOs) in the region of your choice.

To find a particular Telegraph Office, click here.

Code on Map	General region for the telegraph lines	Telegraph Offices
	The line of James Macgeorge.
	First line in South Australia.	TOs
A	Adelaide suburban TOs	TOs
B	Port Wakefield, Salisbury to Barossa	TOs
C	Wallaroo, Morgan, Terowie to Port Pirie	TOs
	Yorke Peninsula	TOs
D	Port Pirie, Oodla Wirra to Port Augusta	TOs
	Eyre Peninsula to Eucla (WA)	TOs
	Kangaroo Island	TOs
E	Barossa	TOs
	Overland Telegraph Line.	TOs
F	Gawler to NSW	TOs
G	Mount Pleasant, Strathalbyn to Wellington.	TOs
H	Adelaide, Cape Jervis to the Coorong	TOs
I	Tailem Bend, Pinaroo to Bordertown.	TOs
J	Bordertown, Mount Gambier to Victoria	TOs
	First line to Victoria.
	Second line to Victoria.
	Third line to NSW via Broken Hill.
	Line to Queensland.