New South Wales - Colonial period: 1858-1900.

The Southern line to the Victorian border.


 

The construction of the first line from Sydney south to Albury to join with the Victorian line from BelvoirWodonga to Melbourne is presented as follows:

  1. Context of the line;
  2. Line construction, stages and issues.
    2.1: Liverpool to Picton;
    2.2: Picton to Berrima;
    2.3: Berrima to Goulburn;
    2.4: Goulburn to Yass;
    2.5: Yass to Gundagai;
    2.6: Gundagai to Albury.
  3. The privately-operated Albury Telegraph Station.
  4. The (Government) Albury Telegraph Office.
  5. The opening of the inter-colonial telegraphic connection.
  6. the Second Sydney-Albury line.

  7. The Victorian Melbourne-Kilmore-Albury line.

 

1. Context.

The vision of a telegraph line linking Sydney and Melbourne developed very early in the history of telegraphy in Australia. For example, in July 1855, the Chairman of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce said that "he had received a long and very carefully prepared letter from Mr. Butcher of Melbourne, suggesting the means of establishing communications between Sydney and Melbourne by means of the electric telegraph. This was not a matter which could be initiated by the Chamber, but a consideration of the subject-matter of the letter would doubtless be given to it by the members. Mr. Butcher advocated over-ground, in place of under-ground, lines of wire and calculated the cost of fixing them between Sydney and Melbourne at £100 per mile. The estimate of the Messrs. Sprigg for an under-ground line was £500 per mile". There were various ways in which these inter-colonial connections could be made and indeed could be extended to international lines between the Colonies and England - see the visionary concepts embodied in one of the early proposals.

The contract for the Southern line to Melbourne was awarded to Charles Tunks of Parramatta. It was expected that, in about five months, Sydney would be in immediate communication with Victoria. The cable line between Melbourne and Launceston was also nearly finished so that, when the N.S.W. line was completed, communication with the neighbouring colonies could occur "at the speed of lightning". A gentleman from Adelaide was appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Telegraphs under Captain Martindale and was scheduled to arrive shortly.

The charges to the public for the transmission of messages are not yet decided upon, but it is believed that they will be the same as those charged by the Government of Victoria.

After the first line from South Head via Sydney (Royal Exchange, Post Office and the Redfern Railway Station) to Liverpool had been opened at the beginning of 1858, the New South Wales Colonial Government made haste to open a line to the south to connect with the other two mainland Colonies of Victoria and South Australia. The Government was under some degree of pressure from various sources. For example, the Bendigo Advertiser of 5 September 1856 noted:

"TELEGRAPH BETWEEN MELBOURNE and SYDNEY. The Sydney Chamber of Commerce specially notices the proposed line of electric telegraph from Melbourne to Albury, and suggests the desirableness of immediately connecting Albury with Sydney. The President of the Chamber remarked that, if the legislature of New South Wales did not immediately take the matter up, it would certainly be taken up, and that without delay, by private parties".

The Bendigo Advertiser of 8 November 1856 also reported on the NSW developments to connect with the other Colonies:

"The Legislative Assembly of New South Wales have now taken active measures towards carrying out their part in the establishment of telegraphic communication between the four colonies of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. A select committee has been formed for the purpose of collecting information on this important subject. Mr. McGowan, whose experience in such matters well qualifies him to give advice, has already communicated with the Government of New South Wales on the most important matter connected with the subject — the probable cost of the line:

"The cost of constructing the lines at present under contract in this colony (Victoria) will amount, when completed, to £73 per mile, between Melbourne, Castlemaine and Sandhurst. For that between Geelong and Ballarat to £82. These amounts are exclusive of the cost of instruments and the erection of stations. The contracts issued for the supply of posts, insulation and the labor were taken at £64 and £73 15s. respectively the Government supplying the wire, the value of which is from £8 10s. to £9 per mile. The cost of the lines hereafter to be erected will not exceed from £65 to £70 per mile including all materials, instruments and stations excepted. "
(Signed) SAMUEL M. McGOWAN,
Superintendent Electric Telegraph.
Electric Telegraph Office, October 14, 1856".

The Adelaide Times of 8 January 1857 had examined the economics of the construction:

"The experience of Victoria has determined the cost pretty accurately and contractors availing themselves of that experience, are willing to undertake the work at about £80 per mile. It is safe, therefore, to assume that the whole could be set up with instruments complete for £35,000. And allowing the liberal sum of £10,000 a year for working expenses, which would admit of stations at Parramatta, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai and Albury, a gross daily income of £50 for three hundred days in the year would cover all the expenses and yield ten per cent on the cost. As the telegraph will, therefore, prove a profitable investment of money, the Government might safely raise the necessary funds by loan and, as experience shows that debentures can be sold readily bearing only five per cent interest, the surplus profits would, in a comparatively short time, extinguish the debt".

 

2. Line construction, stages and issues.

Some of the details below are taken from Capt. Martindale's first Report submitted to the Legislative Assembly and dated 16 April 1858 (p. 5) - and which is included elsewhere.

On the 28th December 1856, the Legislative Assembly resumed the adjourned debate and ultimately passed the resolution that "his Excellency will take the necessary steps to carry out without delay the recommendations therein contained (in the Committee's Report)" - viz:

A Select Committee of the Legislative Council was appointed on the 31st October 1856 to consider and report upon the subject of the introduction into New South Wales of the Electric Telegraph. The Committee recommended on the 18th December:

  • That immediate steps be taken, in concert with the Government of Victoria, to connect the cities of Sydney and Melbourne by Electric Telegraph.

  • The sum not exceeding £38,000 be placed on the Estimates for 1857 for that purpose.

As noted elsewhere, the line from Sydney to Liverpool was constructed by the Government.

The Sydney to Albury line was formally approved by Mr. Michael Fitzpatrick, Under-Secretary of the Colonial Secretary's Office on 9 January 1857 - three days after the first Electric Telegraph line in NSW had been approved. The letter of approval stipulated "that the two systems should in effect form one by an (sic) union at Albury and to accomplish this in the most satisfactory manner, it will be necessary to form a station there which should be under the joint management of the two Governments".

A contract for the line from Liverpool to Albury was signed on 11 May 1857 after the usual tendering process - just before the Sydney-Liverpool line contract was signed. The agreed cost of this long line was £49 14s 6d per mile. The progress made in relation to this contract was quickly seen to be unsatisfactory and hence the Government terminated the contract on 12th October - time having been given to the contractor for a fair trial. In the Gazette: "Notice is hereby given that, in consequence of the unnecessary delay in proceeding with the erection of the electric telegraph from Liverpool to a point on the Victoria side of the River Murray, opposite the town of Albury, the Government did, on the 12th day of October instant, in exercise of the power therein reserved, determine the contract entered into with John Hall, therein described as of Ferrers Street, Emerald Hill, near Melbourne; in the Colony of Victoria, for the performance of the works therein contracted to be done by him". Capt, Martindale, in his Report, noted that "the result appears to afford another proof of the inadequacy of the system of tender by public competition to provide efficiently for the execution of large public works, especially in a new Country". The Sydney Morning Herald of 10 November 1858 commented on this aspect as follows:

"Another provoking cause of delay was the inability of the first contractor to carry out the undertaking. His tender was temptingly low - perhaps we ought rather to say suspiciously low. The Government hesitated for a time to accept it, but sureties which seemed to be satisfactory having been offered, it was not thought right to decline it. The acceptance or rejection of tenders is one of the most delicate duties of the Executive, and one which is most fruitful in complaints.

If the lowest tender is not accepted, the tenderer invariably considers himself an injured man, raises the cry of favouritism, and gets some honorable member, on the look-out for grievances, to take up his case. If the lowest offer is accepted, it too often turns out to have been calculated ignorantly or dishonestly, and then the contractor either breaks down or scamps the work. There may be exceptional cases, but as a general rule it is not expedient for the Government to accept any tender which is obviously unbusinesslike, and which is lower than the price at which faithful work could be performed at the current rates for labour and material, with a margin added for fair profit. The contractor for the overland telegraph (to Albury) could not possibly have constructed it for the price named in his tender ; but that tender having been accepted, every concession and indulgence was allowed him.

But after a long interval of delay, in which very little progress was made, it became quite clear that it was necessary to cancel the contract and make a fresh one. The new contractor, too, has exceeded his time, though in other respects his performances have, we believe, been satisfactory; the delay being caused partly by strikes among the workmen, partly by the rocky nature of the soil in which the posts have to be sunk, and partly by the absence of suitable timber over a part of the route.

However, all the hindrances have been overcome at last, and the telegraph is now complete. It opens a new era in inter-colonial commerce, and cannot fail to unite more closely provinces whose future destiny is evidently a common one. We confidently anticipate that the work will prove profitable, as well as convenient, though that is a point which a little experience will settle. There were some objections made in the Assembly to the vote of money necessary to carry it out — objections not unreasonable in themselves, yet inopportune. If the task had been left to private enterprise, it would probably have been uncommenced at this hour; and now that the communication is complete, probably no one wishes that the Government had left it alone".

Discussions with parties deemed competent to complete the construction through to Albury commenced but resulted in prices which were too high. Tenders were therefore once again called. A contractor deemed suitable at a reasonable price was selected on 12 October 1857 but it took until 18 January 1858 for the contract to be signed.

A discussion in the Legislative Assembly on 10 December 1857 summarised the situation:

"Mr. Weeks asked the Colonial Secretary,if any contract has been entered into with the Government for the completion of the electric telegraph to Albury and if any such contract has been entered into, if there be any objection on the part of the Government to state the name of the contractor, the price at which the work has been contracted for, the date at which the bond of the contractor was executed, and when there is a probability of the work being completed? The Colonial Secretary said a contract had been entered into in the first instance, but the required securities were not forthcoming. A second contract, with all due securities, had however, been made under which, he believed, the line of telegraph would be completed, at the rate of £67 a mile, in the course of five months".

The Sydney Morning Herald of 27 December 1857 put forward its view on the NSW contracting system:

"Before six months have elapsed, it is to be hoped that the electric telegraph will be completed through from Sydney to Melbourne and Adelaide. This colony is unfortunately the most backward of all in introducing this wonderful annihilator of time and space. The failure of the first contractor for the line from Sydney to Albury is another proof of the folly of looking to the cheapness of tenders irrespective of the ability of the tenderer. Nothing is saved in money by such a course, and much valuable time is lost. Tenders which are obviously too low to yield a profit should always be looked upon with suspicion; it is hypocrisy to make such tenders and there is no wisdom in accepting them. Even if the loss of money is ultimately recovered from the sureties, which is generally a matter of great difficulty and trouble, there is no compensation for the disappointment and loss of time.

The effect of a sham contract having been entered into at Sydney, from an over-regard to economy for the construction of the telegraph to Albury, will be that Adelaide will be in direct communication with Melbourne months before Sydney enjoys the same advantage. A certain degree of discredit attaches to this colony when its energy and enterprise are thus contrasted with that of its neighbours. Had a bonafide contract been entered into in the first instance, the work would have been nearly finished by this time and, in the present wretched uncertainty with regard to the ocean mail service, it would have been a great convenience to the mercantile community of this city to have received the earliest intelligence of the arrival of the steamer at Melbourne. But though on the Victorian side the work is finished and our frontier settlers at Albury can get the news from Melbourne in a twinkling, on the Sydney side the wire is not yet stretched beyond Campbelltown and there is no ground for hoping now that the work can he completed before June. The arrival of the English mail will be known in a country township - three hundred miles inland - days before the same fact can be announced at the metropolis on the seaboard and our aspiring contemporary the - Border Post - will be able to treat its rural readers to the leading items of English news some time before the Herald is in a position to do the same service to its subscribers".

On 6 January 1858, The Age reported "the contract for the (Sydney to) Melbourne line has been taken by Mr Charles Tunks of Parramatta, and it is expected that, in about five months, communication with Victoria will be effected. A gentleman from Adelaide is expected, who is to be appointed Assistant Superintendent of Telegraphs under Captain Martindale".

2.1: Liverpool to Picton.

The original contractor for the Sydney-Albury line was subsequently allowed to complete the line from Liverpool to Campbelltown and Picton (83 miles) at £49 14s. 6d. per mile. A report of 18 August 1857 indicated that the poles for the electric telegraph had already been laid on the line through Campbelltown and ready to be erected. In the period to October 1857, before the cancellation, numerous problems developed:

"When the first contract was terminated, the works were very incomplete upon the portion and, immediately upon its termination, several parties waited upon me to state that they had not been paid, either for materials or labour, some of these were apparently labouring men. It was evident that these parties had no legal claim upon the State, but the Government were very desirous that they should, if practicable, be paid. I am happy to state that, after a delay of many months, this has been effected, and the claims sent in, up to the time of the signing of a new bond, have been paid. The arrangement under which this was effected was the making of a second contract with the original contractor for the completion of the line from Picton to Liverpool, on condition that the sub-contractors, under the original contract, should be paid their several claims".
(Martindale's 1858 Report).

The second contract was made on 27 February 1858. The construction to Picton was completed on 18 March - the contract being efficiently carried out because of the sureties required. The cost was £56 per mile and the Government assumed immediate responsibility for the maintenance of the line.

The Empire of 17 March 1858 noted:

"The great southern line of electric telegraph will be completed as far as Picton, on Thursday next.

Mr. Macey Lay has been despatched to Albury on business connected with the intercolonial line of telegraph; and Mr. Cracknell will, in a short time, be sent on a similar mission to Picton".

 

Campbelltown: On the 10th May, 1858 the Telegraph Station was placed in circuit - the same day as the Railway to Campbelltown was opened for public traffic.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 5 May reported on the opening of that portion of the Great Southern Railway between Liverpool and Campbelltown:

"The 4th May, 1858, will be looked back to as an epoch. It certainly was the most eventful day in the history of Campbelltown ...

The new (railway) line is nearly twelve miles in length. It has cost about £7,500 per mile for the first four miles and about £7,000 per mile for the remaining eight. The cost of the necessary rolling stock is about £2,000 more, making in round numbers £9,000 a mile in all ...

The Governor-General and suite, the members of both Houses of Parliament, and the visitors who had been favoured with tickets of invitation, left Sydney in a special train, at 1.15 p.m. The engine was driven for the occasion by Mr. Whitton, the chief engineer. Captain Martindale, the Chief Commissioner, Mr. John Rae, the secretary and Mr. Nealds, the traffic manager, also accompanied the train. Parramatta was reached at two minutes to two - the train not having called at any of the intermediate stations. After a detention of about two minutes here, the train proceeded to Liverpool. At this station, his Excellency alighted from his carriage and, accompanied by Captain Martindale and the four members of the Government, took his place on the "tender" in order to have a full view of the line.

There was no stoppage between Liverpool and Campbelltown and, indeed, at present there are no stations, the localities where public interest will most require them being at present an undetermined point. Every landholder on the line is quite prepared to prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the proper place for a station is on his property; but reasons convincing enough to interested individuals do not appear quite so forcible when addressed to others. There are at present no intermediate villages intersected by the line between Liverpool and Campbelltown and the points at which the local side traffic may be most conveniently concentrated must be discovered by experience.

The train reached Campbelltown at three o'clock. The station at Redfern was also put in telegraphic communication with Campbelltown for the day in case any emergency should arise and the Campbelltown telegraph station was continued open for public use being connected with Liverpool, the South Head and the Exchange, Sydney".

An address to the Governor-General having been read and an appropriate reply returned, his Excellency proceeded to the telegraph station, and sent up a message to Sydney that the train had arrived in safety".

On the basis of this report, and the reports that the telegraph line to Liverpool followed the railway line, it must be assumed that the telegraph line followed the route: Redfern - Parramatta - Liverpool - Campbelltown but that no Telegraph Station was at that stage being contemplated for Parramatta - even though the telegraph line went through that township. Redfern also had no permanent instruments.

The work on the line finished on 18 March, 1858.

In the massive floods of January 1860, the Nepean River rose to about 20 feetjust over 6 metres. of water above the Camden Bridge. By the afternoon, the Nepean River had fallen three feet but was even then at seventeen feet and covering the telegraph poles of the Southern line. Seven of the telegraph poles with about half a mile of wire, including pins, brackets and insulators were washed away by the violence of the floating trees and logs coming into contact with the roof of a house.

In September a second wire for the use of the Railway was erected along the existing poles to Campbelltown and Picton at a cost of £580 16s. 6d. for about 36 miles.

 

2.2: Picton to Berrima.

Berrima: The wires were fixed along the 85 mile line from Picton to Berrima and the line was tested on 1 April 1858 by the contractor with Mr. Tunks exchanging messages with Sydney. His message was received in Sydney at 2:15 pm. Indeed, several messages were transmitted to Sydney and South Head with certainty.

The astonished natives, who had assembled in numbers to witness the experiment, included several of the more influential persons in the district who were then resolved to petition the Government for a Telegraph Station in Berrima. Unfortunately the NSW Government had no instruments to install in any Berrima station.

In mid March 1858, the Yass Courier noted "fifteen cwt. of the wire intended for the construction of the long-anticipated electric telegraph, arrived in Yass and was delivered over to the charge of Mr. Colls of the Commercial Inn. "Future events" it is generally admitted" cast their shadows before "hence there is a probability that we shall yet possess the advantages to be derived from telegraphic communication with Sydney and Melbourne and all the intermediate townships. The posts, we are informed, have been erected to within a short distance of Berrima and the telegraph completed as far as Picton.

But once the contractors approach Yass, they will find that they will have great difficulty in procuring trees suitable for posts. This scarcity of timber will probably occasion delay and the chances are that the line of telegraph, which was to have been completed on the 1st of last January, will not be available in its entirety until New Year's Day, 1859 - if so soon. The contractors, however, anticipate having the whole line completed before the approaching winter sets in. None shall be better pleased than ourselves if their expectations are realised".

2.3: Berrima to Goulburn.

About 17 April 1858, posts were being laid through Goulburn. The Goulburn Herald describes the situation very well:

"Holes, five feet deep, have been dug along Sloane StreetA few blocks away from Sloane Street is the very important Goulburn Base Hospital. for the posts of the Electric Telegraph. Being left open, they will be apt to cause many accidents - especially at night time when pedestrians, unaware of their existence, will be likely to fall into them. Yesterday the Police Magistrate, who is suffering from opthalmia, fell into one but fortunately escaped without injury".

Martindale anticipated that the line to Goulburn would be completed about 1 May 1858 but, in mid-April, stated he could not "anticipate that the line will now be completed in the time specified without the most strenuous exertions on the part of the contractor".

In the Legislative Council of 23 April, "in answer to a question put by Mr. Deas Thomson as to what progress had been made in the erection of the electric telegraph between Sydney and Albury and when it would be completed and in operation for the benefit of the public, the Solicitor-General stated that the works had so far progressed as to justify the belief that, in the early part of May the telegraph would be in operation as far as Goulburn".

The Goulburn Chronicle (28 April 1858) noted: "A few days will now see Goulburn united with Sydney by the magic tie of the electric wire. The poles have been erected for some distance beyond this town and the wire has passed Wingello and will, it is expected, be completed to Goulburn by Monday next". On 17 May the Goulburn station was put into the circuit. Amongst the first messages received from Sydney was the news of the arrival of the mail steamer Australasian into Sydney. Other important messages were forwarded to the various stations on the line.

It did not take long before individuals wanted to cause damage. The Armidale Express of 2 October 1858 reported "A man named Chas. Allen has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment, with hard labour, for maliciously cutting the telegraph wire and posts near the Goulburn bridge. As the prisoner said that he had tossed up with an accomplice, as to which should do the act, the Government has offered a reward of £50 for the apprehension of the second party".

On 3 August 1860, the Goulburn Chronicle reported a mis-adventure on the line:

"On Wednesday last, the working of the line of electric telegraph between Goulburn and Sydney was interrupted during the whole afternoon by a very singular incident. The line-inspector started down the road to ascertain the cause, which was found to be as follows:

It appears that, in order to the working of the boat across the Berrima river, a rope was about being taken across, preliminary to which a small line, with a stone attached, was thrown to take the rope over. This seems to have slipped from the hand of the thrower and, coming in contact with the wire of the telegraph, coiled round it, the line hanging down to the surface of the water. The line being wet, formed an excellent conductor along which the electric current passed, bearing all the messages from either side into the Berrima river instead of to their proper destinations. It was some time before the line could be got at and removed and communication restored".

The Gazette of 12 March 1860: "Tenders are advertised for by the Government for the erection of telegraph stations at Berrima, Goulburn, Yass and Gundagai .... Each building is to be tendered for separately and the tenders are to be received up to the 17th April next". This advertisement was repeated in the Gazette of 13 July 1860 with a closing date of 24 July.

On 8 November 1862, the Sydney Mail reported its latest advice on the damage being caused to the lines:

"The Goulburn Chronicle says: A matter has come under our observation which we deem advisable to draw the attention of the authorities to. On several occasions lately, telegraphic communication has been seriously interrupted by the line being out of order and, when the inspector has gone to discover the cause of the interruption, he has found that it has been occasioned by the insulators being broken, the one wire thereby falling upon the top of the other, impeding the current of electricity. That such occurrences are not accidental, but are wilfully caused is evident from the fact that, during the four years and upwards that the office has been open in Goulburn, no such occurrence has taken place in the town, but has always happened upon the road and nearly invariably, too, in spots where the road was being mended, and a supply of metal at hand, enabling any bullock driver or drayman to try his aim by having a shy at the insulators on the top of the telegraph posts. During the last week, the line inspectors at Berrima and Goulburn have been compelled to go out twice, each time for two days, to rectify injuries apparently thus occasioned".

2.4: Goulburn to Yass.

Gunning: the posts had been erected to Gunning by mid-May 1858.

 

Yass: it had been expected that the line would reach Yass by the end of May. In early May, the Goulburn Herald reported that "Post holes are dug and the route cleared as far as Little Razorback, on the Yass road, about twenty-four miles from Goulburn. The posts have been erected for ten miles beyond the town and would be put up more rapidly but that difficulty is experienced in getting labourers. The contractor is prepared to furnish regular employment to about a score of hands. A dray was despatched some time since from Sydney with a considerable quantity of wire but has not yet reached its destination. On its arrival, no time will be lost in fixing the wire and bringing the telegraph into working order".

It was not however until about mid-June that the posts reached "within a short distance of Yass". That did not delay development because unfortunately the NSW Government had no instruments to install in any Yass station. Finally the Telegraph Office was placed in the circuit on 25 August 1858.

It was probably during this period with the line progressing towards Yass that

"on Monday morning last, the men employed as 'clearers' by the contractors for the erection of the electric telegraph — some 26 in number — refused to commence work unless at an advance of 2s per day on the rates previously paid. The contractor declined to pay the wages due unless the men resumed work. The latter summoned their employer to the Police Court for refusing to pay their wages. From the statements made in Court, it would appear that the men have been well and regularly paid for the labor performed; and by their unwarrantable conduct have seriously impeded the progress of the works. The workmen were engaged in Sydney at the rate of 8s per day consisting, at the present time, of seven or eight hours. They have been regularly paid every fortnight. Towards the end of last week, the contractors had to return several miles to effect some slight alterations and found it impossible to return before Monday, when the men first grumbled at not receiving their wages, and then refused to commence work at a less rate than 10s per day. The contractors had engaged them by the day, so that the magistrates, while granting the complainants a verdict for the sums sued for, commented strongly on their thoughtless and culpable conduct and, in every case, refused to allow costs. The contractors have since procured workmen and the works continue to progress, although they state that the delay occasioned by the strike has thrown them some 25 miles behind with the telegraph posts" (Illawarra Mercury 17 June 1858).

On 28 August 1858, the Yass Courier happily reported on the opening of the Telegraph Office and also added:

On Thursday morning Mr. Cracknell, accompanied by Mr. Ratter (who is to have charge of the station) left Yass for Gundagai with the necessary apparatus for opening an office in that township. Mr. Cracknell anticipated having the line from Gundagai opened on Saturday (this day).

There can he little doubt but that it will be found necessary very shortly to construct a branch line to the Adelong — a district advancing in importance with giant strides and becoming daily more densely peopled. We feel satisfied that a station at Adelong would return much more than a fair percentage on the outlay incurred and we would recommend the inhabitants of that district at once to agitate the formation of a branch, believing that their doing so must ultimately prove successful".

On Friday 29 September 1858, the telegraph line from Sydney - through Yass - was opened to Melbourne. The Telegraph Department claimed that the additional load adjusted the intermediate stations causing delays. The Yass Courier adjusted that explanation to delays being caused by "gross negligence, or as our correspondent supposes, unfair partiality" as message from customers other than the Courier did pass through the line to Sydney.

 

2.5: Yass to Gundagai.

The Albury Telegraph of 27 June 1858 carried the following story:

"Tumut is dull enough. The great event since my last, has been the arrival of Mr. Cracknell, of the Electric Telegraph, who has paid us a visit for the purpose of ascertaining the advisability of bringing the line by way of Tumut, from the last point at which the posts have been erected - Bogalong or Reedy Creek - instead of proceeding by the old route southwards, via Gundagai. Mr. Tunks, one of the contractors, is also here. Mr. Cracknell (being a stranger to the locality) had a disagreeable journey of four days across the mountains.

The mission of these gentlemen to Tumut is to ascertain whether it would be advisable to alter the original destination for the line on general grounds - the cost per mile by the new route and whether it would be cheaper to bring the line this way or by way of Gundagai. Tomorrow (Monday) a whole troop of people are going back with Mr. Cracknell to show him the best line; and I have no doubt whatever, that the new idea will be carried out. Not only would the line by Tumut, in my opinion, be shorter and cheaper, but the station here would doubtlessly command more business than would one at Gundagai. If the new line be adopted, it is intended to go through Oborne and to come out on the Albury-road near Whittey's station, Billybong".

The Yass Courier of July 1858 reported:

"During the past week, rumors have been rife as to the electric telegraph being carried by way of Tumut to the exclusion of Gundagai and we believe that Mr. Cracknell, who superintends the work on behalf of the Government, left Yass the other day for the purpose of examining the proposed line. Meanwhile, however, the contractors continue the erection of the posts along the main or mail road towards Gundagai an have already got them placed for a distance of twenty miles beyond Yass and, unless delayed by alterations in the route, shall reach Gundagai within a fortnight. There is little probability, however, of the original line being deviated from so that, to enjoy the advantages of telegraphic communication, the good folks at Tumut and Adelong must bestir themselves to procure it by some other means than the deprivation of Gundagai. Nothing definite has been decided as to where the Yass station shall be fixed. The wire is now stretched to within a few miles of Yass and the parties employed expect to have it brought into the town early next week. Consequently, the sooner a station-house is decided on and the apparatus placed in it, the better it will be for the public".

Mr. Henry Parkes was assured, in answer to a question to the House on 15 July 1858 that, in the construction of the Goulburn to Albury telegraph line, there had been no deviation from the route followed by the main line of road.

Between Yass and Gundagai, the line passed through Jugiong and Maruluan. A second application for a Telegraph Station at Jugiong in August 1882 was rejected. The local population was however given a telephone service at the Post Office in 1886. So until then, the only way people in Jugiong could receive telegrams was by horseback from Gundagai!!

A major development: "Department of Public Works, Sydney, January 11, 1872.

Sir, — In reference to your letter of the 7th November last enclosing a memorial from certain inhabitants of Yass complaining of the unsightly appearance of the telegraph posts in that town and suggesting that they should be replaced by iron poles, I am directed by the Honorable the Secretary for Public Works to inform you that Mr. Cracknell has recommended that the present posts should be painted which might perhaps, for the present, meet the views of the memorialists.
I have etc. John Rae."
Yass Courier 16 January 1872.

Jugiong:

"Leaving Yass, nothing worthy of notice occurred till we reached Jugiong about 4 o'clock. Here we found the encampment of the men employed on the Electric Telegraph. Their numerous tents gave Jugiong quite tho appearance of another Canvas Town. The mail conveyed to Mr. Rush, the Superintendent here, the intelligence that the project for carrying the line by way of Tumut had been abandoned and that the works were to be proceeded with on the old route. As soon as this was announced, the men gave three hearty cheers in token of victory. The Tumut route was much disliked by them on account of the hardness of the sinking and the mountainous nature of the country. The contractors believed that they would be losers by the new route although it is considerably shorter and they had done what they could to have the old route adhered to. Their men sympathized with them and hence their cheers. Apropos of the telegraph, we may observe that great complaints are rife against the practice of falling the trees and leaving them lying carelessly about, sometime across the very road. A. driver, passes in the day time with the roadway clear. He returns at night, and suddenly pulled up by a newly-felled tree, which the telegraph people have obligingly placed in his path. This is a fair subject of complaint. Travellers have enough to try their tempers without this".
(Empire 2 August 1858).

Gundagai:

 

On 11 September 1858, the Ovens and Murray Advertiser reported that: "Mr. Cracknell, the Superintendent of Electric Telegraph in New South Wales, has arrived in Albury and reports that the line will be completed to Albury by the 1st of November. The wire has now reached Tarcutta and the opening of the Gundagai station places Melbourne within 24 hours reach of Sydney. The contractors are still short of hands and we are informed that 100 men or more would meet with ready employment on the works as Messrs. Tunks and Co. are desirous of completing the undertaking at the earliest possible moment".

"The electric telegraph is completed and in operation as far as Gundagai and it is believed that, early in October, the communication to Melbourne and Adelaide will be perfect. The line has been long finished to the frontier on the Victorian side - the delay has been on the part of New South Wales"(Sydney Morning Herald 10 September 1858).

The Gundagai telegraph office was opened for use on 28 August 1858.

On 31 May 1860, the Department of Public Works advertised:

"TENDERS will be received at this Office until TUESDAY, the 24th. day of July next at noon from persons desirous of contracting for the supply of all materials, and for the workmanship necessary for the erection of the undermentioned line of Telegraph, according to the terms, general conditions and specifications appended hereto.

TERMS:

From Gundagai via Tarcutta and Wagga Wagga to Deniliquin, an estimated distance of 230 miles. From Gundagi to Tarcutta, a distance of 35 miles more or less, the wire to be stretched upon the existing poles. Tenders must therefore state the price per mile completed, for the first 35 miles and per mile completed for the remainder of the line separately. The Contract must be completed and the works handed over to the Government within eight months from the notification of the acceptance of the tender, time being considered of the essence of the contract. It is proposed to follow generally the line of the present Mail road but the Government reserve to itself the right of deviating from this line at pleasure".

2.6: Gundagai to Albury.

As the priority had been on reaching Albury, only four intermediate telegraph stations were opened along the line during this time. Hence for a while after these four became operational, other stations which were constructed operated simply as repeater stations.

The telegraph line passed through a newly surveyed township named Germanton which was on the surveyed path of the line to Albury. A Telegraph Office was opened there in 1858. It is considered highly likely that the Germanton office was, at that stage, a repeater station.

In 1873, a Telegraph Office was opened on the main telegraph line north of Albury at Ten Mile Creek. In 1875, the office changed its name to Germanton but changed its name again during World War 1 (in 1915) to Holbrook.

Kyamba/Kyeamba: TO opened at Kyamba on 1 September 1861. It was upgraded to a Post Office on 1 March 1891. It changed name to Kyeamba on 2 April 1917. It closed on 30 April 1941 and had a further operational life from 2 August 1943 to 31 May 1957.

The Yass Courier of 19 January 1861 reported on the effects of one storm (of the many which hit all the time) by saying "Earlier in the day, severe storms of the same character occurred at Albury and Gundagai and, for a time, the electric telegraph was inarticulate".

Albury was one of the first stations opened on the Southern line - but it was opened in the absence of any involvement by the Government of NSW. Details about the connection by private subscription to open telegraphic communication between Victoria (Wodonga) and NSW (Albury) are included elsewhere. This connection gave Albury residents and business people connection to Melbourne and the rest of the Victorian network, as it then existed, as well as to South Australia.

 

3: The privately-operated Albury Telegraph Office.

The New South Wales Government was frequently delayed in its project management strategies. As a result, the Victorian line to Wodonga was completed in January 1858 - months before even the thoughts of the NSW line reaching Albury. Hence the people of Wodonga and Albury took it upon themselves to solve the problem. They took up collections from the main people in the district and, with help from Mr. McGowan, had the line erected themselves.

The Armidale Express of 26 December 1857 reported:

"A public meeting had resulted in the contribution of a sufficient sum of money to pay for extending the Victorian telegraph line to Albury. An arrangement was immediately made with the contractors, who at once commenced the work - and the first post erected on the N.S.W. side of the river was christened, in the presence of a number of residents".

 

ALBURY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

"A meeting of the subscribers to the fund for bringing the electric wire from the Wodonga bank of the river into the town of Albury was held on Saturday evening last at the Rose Inn. Mr. Morris Asher in the chair. The proceedings were of a conversational nature and about 20 persons were present.

Mr. Lay, the newly appointed station clerk, informed the meeting that the apparatus necessary for working the office in Albury was expected to arrive in about five days. The offer of Mr. John Nichols to erect a building for a telegraph office adjoining his hotel, on being guaranteed that the Government would make use of it for three years, was now under consideration by the Government. In the meantime, temporary premises would be required, and it was expected that the inhabitants of Albury would place two rooms at the disposal of the Government for a few months, seeing that the Railway Commissioners had performed their part in furnishing instruments, and paying the salary of a clerk for the sole benefit of the people of Albury.

The following resolution was adopted: "That the offer of Mr. Nichols to place two rooms at the disposal of the Government for a telegraph office, and to carry the wires to these rooms at his own expense, on being authorised to receive the surplus funds (if any) which have been or may hereafter be collected by Mr. McDonogh, be accepted. The posts and wires to be erected within 10 days from the 15th March, 1858. Mr. Nichols to furnish the office fittings, provided the expense does not exceed £10."
(The Argus 23 March 1858).

So at that stage, the inter-colonial line between Wodonga and Albury was a private line - due to the lack of effective project management on the part of New South Wales. "The instruments for the office in Albury have arrived from Sydney, and the line could have been opened yesterday but for the illness of Mr Lay, the station clerk, who received a stroke of the sun whilst placing the wire on the insulators" (The Age 30 March 1858).

"We are happy to hear that Mr Lay, the gentleman who has taken charge of the Telegraph Station in this town, is at length recovering from his late illness, and that by the active exertions being made to complete the mechanical arrangements, it is exceedingly probable that the early part of the next week will put Albury into direct communication with Melbourne. It may seem poetical to predict a similar line of communication from here to Sydney but the fact of the outposts having reached Goulburn seems to hold out a promise to us that even that will be accomplished "one of these days". For the present, however, we must be content to take our late Sydney news by way of Melbourne" (Ovens and Murray Advertiser 5 April 1858).

The Border Post and Albury Telegraph of July 24 1858 narrated just how important the private line to Albury was the the business community:

"The line between Melbourne and Adelaide is now openThe Portland-Mount Gambier connection had been made in May 1858. for the transmission of messages. This convenience will doubtless be put into frequent requisition by the commercial men of Albury and Beechworth who receive supplies of goods via the Murray. At present, letters between Albury and Adelaide are sent via Sydney and the course of post usually occupies a fortnight and occasionally three weeks. When we state that it occupies from four to six weeks before a reply from Adelaide can be received by a correspondent in Albury, we think that we have satisfactorily proved the value of this newly opened portion of the intercolonial telegraph".

An announcement by Captain Martindale in the Gazette of 25 September 1858 gives an insight into the transition arrangements in place during the period construction of the first line south was continuing

Electric Telegraph Branch.
Department of Internal Communications.

22nd September, 1858.

NOTICE is hereby given, that stations have been opened at Yass and Gundagai for the transmission of messages. Telegrams can now to sent in about twenty-eight hours from Sydney to Victoria and South Australia on THURSDAYS and SATURDAYS - viz by telegraph to Gundagai, thence by mail to Albury and from Albury by telegraph.

Messages for Sydney from Victoria and South Australia, if despatched not later than 6 o'clock p.m. on SATURDAYS and 11 o'clock a.m. on THURSDAYS will be in time for the mail from Albury to Gundagai and reach Sydney in about twenty-eight hours.

R. H MARTINDALE, Superintendent.

The NSW line from Melbourne to Albury was finally completed in October 1858 - seven months after the Albury Office had started exchanging messages with Melbourne and other offices in Victoria and South Australia.

On 28 September 1858, the Sydney Morning Herald commented that "By an advertisement in our issue of Saturday last, it will be seen that a reduced scale of charges is to come into operation on the 1st of October next, in accordance with which the charge for a message from Sydney to Albury will be four shillings for every ten words, and threepence for every additional word. There is no fear that the wires will not be fully employed. The real fear is lest the wires should be overworked".

Details of the (Government) Telegraph Station at Albury are included elsewhere.

 

5. The opening of the (Government) inter-Colonial telegraphic connection.

"The extension of the Electric Telegraph between New South Wales and those of Victoria and South Australia, has now become a great fact. Yesterday was fixed for that official opening which usually intervenes between the completion and the use of works of so much importance and general utility. It was understood that his Excellency Sir William Denison would be present to congratulate Sir Henry Barkly and Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell on being brought into communication so direct and so rapid, with the colonies over which they presided, and that each would receive from the others almost simultaneously an assurance that his joy was reciprocated.

But the Fates willed it otherwise and, as at the Cherbourg fete, the great event of the day did not come off at the proper time. There was, however, this difference: the mishap in the one case was beyond rectification, but in the other it is satisfactory to know that the delay was only temporary. The obstruction was not in consequence of any defect in the line but was caused by one of those trifling occurrences which frequently frustrate the best designs.

At nine o'clock on 29 October 1858, the Sydney Telegraph Station obtained a circuit to (communicate with) Melbourne and succeeded in getting a message from that city in reference to the working of the line. The signals were good and the preparations for the opening went on successfully, together with the other business of the office. At 11 o'clock on the same morning the Melbourne shipping intelligence, up to a few minutes previous, was posted in the Sydney Exchange, and at two everything was ready for the formal opening, Albury having been instructed, half an hour before, to be in readiness.

A considerable number of members of the Legislature, members of the Chamber of Commerce ad gentlemen engaged in extensive mercantile transactions were present to witness the ceremony. Among them were the Hon. Charles Cowper (the Premier), the Hon. Robert Campbell (Colonial Treasurer), the Hon. John Robertson (Secretary for Lands and Public Works), Mr. Dickson, M.L.A., Mr. Piddington, M.L.A., Mr. Weekes, M.L A , Mr. Smith, M.L.A., Mr. R. Tooth, M.L.A., Mr. Byrnes M.L.A, the Rev. W. B. Clarke, the Rev. J. West, Mr. Breillat, Mr. Clark Irving, Mr. W. Lamb, Mr. A. Campbell, Mr. C. Kemp, etc.

His Excellency the Governor-General was not present. He regretted that he was unable to attend on so important and interesting an occasion and authorised the hon. Secretary for Lands and Public Works, in his name, to transmit the following message to Sir Henry Barkly and Sir R. G. MacDonnell respectively: "I rejoice at the shortening of the distance between us."

In the absence of Captain Martindale, who was away upon official business, the duty of transmitting the messages devolved upon Mr. E. C. Cracknell, who immediately applied himself to his pleasing task. The interest taken in the sending of the message was very great but the disappointment at not receiving an answer was greater. It should be explained that at the present time messages cannot be sent "through" to Melbourne. The polarity of the batteries in the two colonies being opposed to each other. The messages have direct to be repeated at Albury. This, of course, occasions a few minutes delay but arrangements will at once be made for transmission from one colony to the other.

To find out, if possible, where and what was the cause of the obstruction the different stations were interrogated and all replied until the Yass station was arrived at. Here the communication ceased. This was proof sufficient that the cause of the obstruction was somewhere between Yass and Gundagai which is the next station. On further enquiry, it was found that the station master at Gundagai had inadvertently put on an "earth wire" and thus drawn off the electric current.

At three o'clock, however, the Gundagai "earth wire" was removed and communication with Albury obtained. The messages to Melbourne and South Australia were then forwarded and the telegraph, being in full working order, was declared open to the public".
(Sydney Morning Herald 30 October 1858).

The line was also immediately opened by the Government for business. Hence the completion of the NSW line from Sydney to Albury was a mere six months after Albury had been linked to Melbourne.

On 10 November 1858, The Sydney Morning Herald printed an excellent review of the achievements and potential problems of the NSW lines and the broader inter-colonial challenges. In part:

"The 29th of October will be marked in our future local almanacs as the day on which telegraphic communication was first completed between Sydney and Melbourne and Adelaide. The event has been long looked forward to, and somewhat impatiently waited for.

From various causes New South Wales has been rather behind its neighbours in the adoption of telegraphic communication. It was later in the field, and unfortunate hindrances intervened to prevent the lost time from being made up for by subsequent celerity of operations. One great cause of the backwardness of this colony in starting telegraphs was, that there was no one whose special business it was to foster and preside over this department of public enterprise.

  • In Victoria, Mr. McGowan, who introduced the electric telegraph, was always urging its extension on the Government, which had only to give its sanction to the designs of an energetic official.
  • In Adelaide, Mr. Todd, who had been imported from England to construct and superintend the short line between the city and the port, began, as soon as he had discharged that little duty, to pine for a wider sphere of operations, and boldly proposed to carry a line overland to Melbourne.

In both these cases it was the officials who suggested the works to the Government, and not the Government who gave instructions to the officials. New South Wales was drawn into the movement partly by the necessity of keeping pace with its contemporaries, and partly by a special invitation to join in completing the general scheme of intercommunication between the Australian capitals. Still as there was no one specially to take the work in hand, it prospered but slowly.

Captain Martindale, on taking the command of the Department of Internal Communications, at once saw the weak point of the system, and having obtained permission to appoint a special superintendent of telegraphs, Mr. Cracknell, who had acted efficiently as second to Mr. Todd in South Australia, was invited to Sydney. Since this gentleman's arrival, the progress has been much more brisk".

The problem that should never have been was finally rectified. The Maitland Mercury of 6 January 1859 was one of a number of newspapers who reported:

"We are happy to announce that the New South Wales Government have purchased of the subscribers, the private line of telegraph erected between Albury and the Wodonga side of the river. A draft for the amount has been forwarded to Mr. W. A. McDonough who is now returning the amounts to the various parties who contributed to pay for the erection of the line".

 

6. A second Sydney-Albury line.

In the NSW Government Gazette of 20 May 1859, "TENDERS will be received at this Office until Tuesday, June 21st at noon, from persons desirous of contracting to supply Wire, Insulators, Fittings and the Workmanship necessary for the erection of a second Telegraphic Wire from Sydney to Albury, according to the annexed specification. Tenders to state the price per mile completed. The work must be completed and handed over to the Government within three months from the notification of the acceptance of the Tender. Payments will be made in fortnightly installments to the extent of £80 per cent on the value of the work certified by the Superintending Officer...

Specifications

The Sydney Morning Herald of early July 1859 explained the need for the line as follows:

"The line between Sydney and Melbourne is in very constant operation and more than meeting its expenses. Indeed, the occasion for a second wire was the increasing number of messages not only between Sydney and Melbourne but between Sydney and the intermediate stations - the one continually stopping the transmission of the other. On the completion of the second wire, one will probably be used entirely for the stations in this colony leaving the other free for communication between the two capitals".

At about the same time, the proponents of an alternative approach were advancing their case. They claimed that a line down the east coast from Sydney to Wollongong all the way to Edan and then along the Victorian southern coast to Melbourne would be preferable on two grounds:

  1. it would be totally independent and avoid problems including fires and floods in the one locality;

  2. it would open up telegraphic communication to a large number of additional people.

Tenders were under consideration at the end of June 1859. The tender of Messrs, Benson and Co. of Melbourne was accepted for the 365 mile second line from Sydney to Albury in July 1859. The tender required the line to be completed on 31 January 1860 at a cost of £7,186 12s 4d. The terms were highly advantageous to the NSW colony. In July and August, the contractors removed their plant from Tasmania. The new wire was to be attached to the posts already in use.

In October 1859: "The second line of telegraph wire is being rapidly extended in the direction of Albury. The Goulburn Herald is informed that on Tuesday last the wire was strung as far as Bargo River and the brackets were up as far as Berrima. Our contemporary adds: -" The wire has been ready dropped as far as Marulan. It is dropped in coils and, within the hollow of the coil, are deposited the brackets and the insulators. We regret to hear that a great number of the latter have been wilfully broken since the wire has been dropped. On Wednesday last, the wire was broken near the Hanging Rock owing to the bush fires burning down some trees which fell across the line. It was repaired by the Berrima line inspector. On Thursday communication was again interrupted owing to the second wire being too slack and touching the other. The defect, however, was soon remedied".

On 5 November 1859, the Goulburn Herald reported that "the brackets for the second wire are now fixed as far as Goulburn and the line itself has been completed in Towrang and will probably be brought into town in the course of today". Construction was taking place at the rate of about 24 miles per week.

Although it had been expected the second wire would be completed by the end of January 1860, the Goulburn Herald of 1 February 1860 noted that "The second wire, the erection of which between Sydney and Albury, has been somewhat delayed by the scarcity of wire but is now stretched beyond Yass, having been carried through this town (Goulburn) on Thursday last". The Sydney Morning Herald of 13 February 1860 provided more details:

"The second wire in course of construction to Albury is fixed about thirty miles beyond Yass. Unexpected delay has occurred with the work, in consequence of the difficulty in procuring wire. An extension of the time originally fixed for the completion of the line has been allowed, as the wire will be almost entirely devoted to intercolonial messages, and for which it will not be available until our southern neighbours have put up another wire for its continuation to Melbourne. This was distinctly promised by the late Victorian Government, and our second wire was partly undertaken on the strength of that promise. The present Ministry have however, by omitting the item from their new estimates, not considered themselves answerable for the assurances of their predecessors".

On 14 April 1860, the Herald continued with "The new wire will for the present be used only for messages between the stations in this colony, as the Victorian Government have withdrawn from their estimates for this year the sum which their predecessors promised to submit to Parliament, on our own Government undertaking to put up a second wire as far as their frontier It is understood, however, that the desirability of the continuation of our second wire through to Melbourne is fully admitted by the Victorian Government and will shortly be provided for".

Details of the Victorian second line from Albury-Wodonga to Melbourne are given elsewhere.

The South Australia-Victoria inter-colonial link had been completed in July 1858 but it was not until 29 October 1858 that Sydney could communicate directly with Adelaide via Melbourne:

"Inter-Colonial Telegraphic Communication.

Mr. Robertson announced to the House that telegraphic communication between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide was now complete. A Message transmitting the compliments of Sir William Denison to Sir Henry Barkly was despatched and received a reply and subsequent messages were exchanged between Sydney and Adelaide, the time occupied in the latter case being about an hour, that is from 2:30 until 3:30 this afternoon".

 

A third Sydney-Melbourne line was also discussed from as early as 1859. By that stage, the Victorian Echuca line had been constructed. Then using private funds, the citizens of Moama and Deniliquin constructed their own line to Deniliquin so that residents in that general area of New South Wales could access Victoria and South Australia. It was however the volume of traffic overloading the line which required an alternate not a duplicate line. Clearly the private Deniliquin-Echuca line served that purpose - if it could be accessed. As the Sydney Morning Herald of 11 July 1859 commented in terms of demand for telegraphic communication "A second wire from Sydney to Adelaide via Deniliquin is greatly needed, not only to lighten the work on the present line in time of great pressure, but to guard against total stoppages, which generally happen, at the most inconvenient times".

It would not be until 1867 that a direct Sydney-Adelaide telegraphic line was opened.

 

Major upgrade.

The Ovens and Murray Advertiser of 29 January 1884 was one of several newspapers who carried the following: "It is absolutely necessary that a new wire should be carried from Sydney to Melbourne in order to accommodate the additional business which is expected to result from the reduction in the inter-colonial rateThe Postal Conference in Sydney in May 1882 had agreed that the charge for a telegram between Sydney and Melbourne would be reduced to 1 shilling. That reduction would come into effect when the new equipment was installed. and the wire and other material for this purpose are now on their way to Sydney from England. Six cases of quadruplex apparatus were shipped from London in the Arthurstowe on the 19th November last and they are expected shortly to reach Sydney. It is stated that all the telegraphic business between the two colonies will be conducted, as far as New South Wales is concerned, on the quadruplex system".