The following aspects of early telegraphic developments in Western Australia are described on this page:
1. The early agitation for telegraphic facilities in the Colony.
After telegaphic communication had been successfully established in the other Colonies, a number of people from various parts of the Western Australia community began to agitate for similar facilities. The Colonial Government was very cautious about the nature of the development and of the costs involved.
The proprietor of the Perth newspaper The Inquirer and Commercial News - Edmund Stirling - became increasingly annoyed with the Government apathy. He told the Government that the Swan River colony merchants of those days were frustrated by the slowness and expense of communications between Perth and Fremantle. Messages were delivered by horse, boat and foot. He noted that the telegraph had been operating in America from 1844 was widely used in Europe. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were linked by telegraph in 1858.
The Perth Inquirer of 26 October 1864 (not surprisingly) continued this idea: "The feasibility of establishing telegraphic communication in the colony has of late been discussed and inquiries made respecting the probable cost. It is thought that the expense of constructing a telegraphic line between Perth and Fremantle will not exceed £10 per mile but the expenses of the establishment, which will be heavy, are not taken into account. A line between Albany and Perth would be of great service, and enable us to obtain again outlining the benefits of accepting the new technology.the latest news from all quarters immediately on the arrival of the mail".
Stirling therefore offered to build a telegraph line between Perth and Fremantle to demonstrate the effectiveness of this mode of communication. He offered a deal whereby:
This deal was accepted and Stirling - in conjunction with his colleague Cumming - established the West Australian Telegraph Company as a private company to run the operation. He also appointed an ex-convict from Scotland - James Fleming - as the supervisor of the project. Fleming had been transported to Australia in 1864 for defrauding fellow Glaswegian tea merchants.
The concept of constructing a line of telegraph
"Those who look with a friendly eye to all such projects as tend to promote the material prosperity of the colony, will congratulate themselves upon the formation of a company to introduce Telegraphy. This, like many other proposed improvements, has long been talked about and the question often raised "Why not lay a single line of Telegraph between Perth and Fremantle" ? The cost of construction would be small and the working expenses trifling; and surely there is sufficient going on between the two places to support an inexpensive line! We believe that this project has been left in abeyance hitherto, not so much through any feeling of distrust, as the want of cooperation to enter practically into the matter and place it in proper form before the public. This is now done and the result, so far as we know, is exceedingly satisfactory to the promoters. A large proportion of the Company's shares are already taken up and all would be now subscribed, we believe, but for the desire to place them, not in a few hands but in many, in order that the ulterior objects of the Company may be more readily carried out.
The line of communication between Perth and Fremantle is regarded merely as a commencement and we expect to see, at no very distant time, many more lines in the colony worked profitably for the shareholders and beneficially for the public at large".
There was however strong support from a number of private citizens. The Letter to the Editor from CITIZEN of the Inquirer on 1 July 1868 reflects this support.
2. Construction and operation of the first Perth-Fremantle line
The first obvious signs of development were reported in the Inquirer on 2 December 1868: "The wire and other apparatus necessary for forming a line of telegraph between Perth and Fremantle have been received by the West Australian Telegraph Company by the Pilot from Melbourne. We are informed that the company intends commencing operations forthwith and that most of the shares have been taken up".
The first pole was placed in position at a spot on the eastern side of the roadway leading to the Perth William Street Jetty on 19 February 1869 by the Colonial Secretary - the Honorable Frederick Barlee - in the presence of the proprietors (Edmund Stirling, James C. Fleming, Alex Cumming and Mr. E. W. Snook) and Mr. R. R. Jewell, Clerk of Works, Horace Stirling and Mr. B. Von Bibra. There was so little interest in the introduction of the telegraph into the Western Australian Colony that only these six people were present to witness the first post being erected at the Jetty (at that time the population of Perth was approaching 4,000). Even so - the party returned to the United Service Hotel and celebrated over a glass of wine.
Apparently the inhabitants were not the only ones who expressed a lack of interest. The Perth Gazette of 17 February 1871 was later to lament that "the first post should have been a choice piece of timber and a little more artistic skill might have been displayed upon it so that, in times to come, the curious might note at a glance the first Telegraph post erected for conducting telegraphic communication with the interior. Unfortunately neither of these desirable points have been attended to, the first post itself being a very indifferent sample of our timber and so roughly prepared as to reflect both upon our taste and skill".
The line to Fremantle was about 12 miles long.
It was sent .
The Fremantle Herald of 15 May 1869 published an early statementSounds a bit like
'first with the news at 5'. about the line under the banner "BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH - Pasquin's Express:
"The Citizens of Perth to the inhabitants of Fremantle; greeting!
"The Citizens avail themselves of this, the Western Australian Telegraph's maiden message, to congratulate the Fremantlites upon the establishment of telegraphic communication between the Metropolis and the Port, and hope that the cordial unanimity and that good feeling which eschews all petty jealousy and party faction which has ever existed between the colony's Seat of Learning and the Seat of Commerce will now be more closely cemented and perpetuated and that this, the first step in the March of Progress, may be followed by other equally gigantic strides in the same right direction.
Amen and Amen."
To place that report into context, the Perth Gazette of 21 May 1869 reported "A sign of progress has become visible within the last few days - the suspension of the wires for the Electric Telegraph between Perth and Fremantle for the first line in the colony".
On Monday morning 21 June 1869 at 11:00 am, the first (official) message sent over the line from Perth was from His Exellency the Administrator of the Colony from a room near the Town Hall which was later used as the Ladies' toilet. The text of this telegram read:
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FREMANTLE TOWN TRUST.
HIS EXCELLENCY COLONEL BRUCE HEARTILY CONGRATULATES THE INHABITANTS OF FREMANTLE ON THE ANNIHILATION OF DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PORT AND THE CAPITAL AND HE REQUESTS THAT THIS THE FIRST MESSAGE MAY BE PUBLICLY KNOWN.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE 21ST JUNE 1869."
A copy of this telegram is held by the State Library of Western Australia. It is probable that several copies were made and placed in a presentation box as shown in the previous hyperlink reference. Other messages can be accessed elsewhere together with a brief history of Morse's invention. It is interesting to note that the second message sent was from the Resident Magistrate who wrote "The Telegraph message has been received here at Fremantle Court House and read, at 25 minutes to 12 o'clock". So no Telegraph Office at Fremantle.
The West Australian Times of 7 May 1875 reproduces the letter between J. C. Fleming, Superintendent of Telegraph and the Colonial Secretary Fred. P. Barlee for the copy he received. The paper described the box as follows:
The box alluded to in Mr. Fleming's letter is formed of the wood of the first telegraph post, having a silver plate on the lid with a design of telegraph poles and wires. The inside handsomely lined, contains a roller made of mother o' pearl around which the first despatch sent by telegraph in Western Australia is wound;
on one side it bears the inscription: "Instrument Register of the first Telegraphic message in Western Australia"
on the other "The first Telegraph Pole in Western Australia was erected by the Hon. Frederick P. Barlee, Col. Secretary, on 19th February, 1869".
Also included in Fleming's letter was a list of the Telegraph Offices operational by May 1875.
As is the want of good times past, the Fremantle Herald of 3 July 1869 published a poem titled "The Song of the Telegraph" to mark the opening of the line.
Prior to the line being constructed, there hsd been a number of expressions of doube about the need for and use of the intended line of telegraph especially from non-Stirling newspapers. The following was printed in the Herald on 26 June1869:
"It is with great satisfaction that we announce the completion of the Line of Telegraph between the Capital and the Port. No doubt great credit is due to the original promoters of it. We are fully aware that it is far in advance of the requirements of the colony, but as it is a move in the right direction, we, under an amicable protest, wish it every success. Nor shall we be disposed to critizise too closely, (within due bounds) the use made of it as a channel of communication between the Central Government, and its officials at Fremnantle. A moderate subsidy would not we are sure be objected to by the Representatives of the people, but it is absurd to say, that there exists such a necessity for frequent immediate communication between the authorities at the termini, as would warrant any considerable expence, to be defrayed out of the public revenue". a descripttion of the telegrams sent then followed.
3. Operation of the first line.
The first operator at Perth was James Coats Fleming while the operator at Fremantle was William Holman (background unknown).
In contast to the commencement of services in the other Colonies, few telegrams were sent for a few weeks because the line was not made available to business or to the public. The Press did not use the line at all despite Stirling's association. When such access was authorised, usage increased significantly - and some of the ill-will and distrust between "these distant places" began to break down.
Nevertheless, the longer-term importance of the development was recognised at the highest levels almost immediately. In opening the new sitting of the Legislative Council on 26 June 1869, the Acting Governor (pending the arrival of Governor Hampton's successor) said:
"I cannot conclude this address without adverting to two events which will render the past half-year of our colonial history memorable. I allude first to the recent visit of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh; and next, to the fact of Telegraphic communication having been, within the last week, established between the Port and the capital. I think it but just to record that, for the latter of these two events, the colony is indebted to the enlightened enterprise of two private citizens — Messrs. Stirling and Cumming".
On 18 October 1869, the first Quarterly Report of the operations of the West Australian Telegraph Company was presented to shareholders. It showed 1,084 messages had been transmitted in the three-month period of which 540 were commercial, 181 were domestic, 143 were shipping, 98 were banking and 88 were Government. Three messages used cypher. The Report also commended the directors for the low rates being charged yet the line was still profitable. The total number of messages transmitted by the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company's lines from the middle of January to the end of March was 2,299.
After four years, problems developed with the Fremantle to Perth road. Luckily the telegraph lines had been erected and that helped to provide temporary relief. The Fremantle Herald of 27 September 1873 described the situation in the following way:
"We are glad to notice a great improvement upon this road. Most travellers between Fremantle and Perth are acquainted with a piece of road about half a mile on the Perth side of the North Fremantle Depot. For a long time this piece of road, which runs close to the sea was, not to say impassible, but invisible at any rate under the "obscure light which falls from the stars" as Corneille's Cid has it. The sand drifted from the beach and the low sand hills to an unpleasant extent, covering the road, which at night could only be discerned by the aid of the telegraph posts. Now all that is changed and for the better. A party of prisoners has been employed in bushing and screening the hills, after the same fashion as that with which the sandhills at Geraldton were covered and with an equally satisfactory result. The road is no longer covered with a drift of sand, as deep as a snowdrift on the downs. Foot passengers can now traverse the road without needing to fear that they will bury themselves alive".
On 18 August 1869, the Inquirer raised the possibility of another advantage to be conveyed by the completion of the telegraph line - the installation of a time ball to synchronise time between Perth and Fremantle. A new Town Hall was being constructed at Perth and it was to have a large publc clock: "the passing hours will be notified by the quarter chimes, and deep-toned hour bell, while the true Perth time will be shown on its four dials, illuminated at night. Considerable interest most attach to the clock from the fact that it is the first large turret clock erected in the colony ... standard time could be transmitted to Fremantle by the simple and inexpensive construction of a Time Ball connected to the wire of the Electric Telegraph. Whether this be considered worth while for the benefit of the town and shipping is another matter; we know there is now the means of doing it.".
4. The extensions of the first telegraph line.
On 30 September 1869, another event happened - the new Governor (Frederick Weld) took up his position. Weld saw that the Colony had great development opportunities and the telegraph was an important catalyst for much of that development. To review the situation of his new responsibility, in 1870 Governor Weld rode on horseback from Albany to Perth and then to Geraldton by the inland route and back to Perth along the coast - a distance of 2,100 miles in three months and reported his findings widely.
On 12 February 1870, the Fremantle Herald reported that, in South Australia, not only had that the crops were in and there had been heavy rains, but "In the Assembly, a motion has been passed approving of Telegraphic Communication with Great Britain via Western Australia, and affirming the propriety of offering a guarantee of 5½ per cent. on capital expended in laying down an efficient line of telegraph".
In May 1870, with the significant encouragement of Governor Weld, the Legislative Council passed a resolution authorising additional line construction. These lines were in the Wheatbelt Region and in the Southern region. As the new lines were constructed, intermediate Telegraph Offices were opened according to the need.
5. Issues relating to the operation of the first telegraph lines.
In the early 1870s, the Western Australia Post and Telegraph Department began to implement changed organisational aspects of operating a Telegraph Service. An overt indication of the changes was that the status of various Post Offices was altered and they became known as Post and Telegraph Offices as telegraph lines were connected.
5.1: Staffing.
The question of who should have responsibility for the Post and Telegraph Office was also considered widely - especially as the telegraph service had a much greater emphasis on confidentiality. Messages in telegrams had to remain totally confidential and prospective customers demanded that right be respected. Sometimes, local people were trusted because of who they were (for example, Miss Clinch at Berkshire Valley). In other situations, unknown and unattached individuals had no credentials to put before the community. For example, the Fremantle Herald of 25 February 1871 published the following letter from a concerned reader:
To the Editor of the Herald.
SIR,Now that we are about commencing our Telegraph communication through the colony I would, with your permission, lay before the public a few evils which may arise if the present arrangements are carried out according to the rumours now in circulation, it being reported that the Postmasters at Guildford, York, and Northam (all being storekeepers) are to be appointed clerks in charge of the Telegraph Department.
This certainly is open to very serious objections; for instance, being myself a storekeeper, and learning that there is a probability of an advance in the market, the result is that I must inform my fellow-storekeeper, Postmaster and Telegraph clerk, who can, of course, telegraph at once upon hearing the result of my enquiry and even purchase indirectly before I receive my reply. Again, a person may have some transaction in barter and, in case of a sudden rise or fall in any arcticle, upon my making enquiry, he will again have first call.
In the first named place (Guildford) there may not be any serious objection; but in York and Northam, being a long distance from the market, this arrangement will have a different effect. In Newcastle, the telegraph station is to be at the Court House; then, why not in York and Northam? In these places, they have a Local Court, with clerks appointed, who have little or nothing to do, but are still obliged to be in attendance. Their salaries certainly are small and insufficient but, with the addition of Postmaster and Telegraph Clerk's salary, would command and secure respectable and competent persons, and entirely do away with the evil complained of. Personally there can be no objection to any of our Postmasters but having clerks paid by Government, I think they are the most fit and proper persons for the appointment.
Yours truly,
A SHAREHOLDER.
5.2: Responsibility for construction.
The construction and operation of the telegraph lines in Western Australia was also a matter of considerable debate. Although Victoria and South Australia had had some dalliance with the private sector in their early days, it was short lived. In contrast, it was proposed that the first telegraph lines to be constructed in Western Australia were to be built by private interests. As noted above, the Perth-Fremantle line was constructed as a joint venture between the Government and the Western Australia Telegraph Company.
To continue the construction of the telegraph lines, the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company was formed itowards the end of 1870 with a number of shareholders, to commence construction of the next two authorised lines. Its operation was determined by the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Act of 1871 (and is described through the last hyperlink).
For reasons not now clear, the Government changed its policies on 1 April 1871 and took full responsibility for the construction and operation of the telegraph lines. The Perth-Fremantle line was taken over during 1871. Proceedings were then initiated to wind up the Electro--Magnetic Telegraph Company. Both the other lines were purchased in 1872 although the line to York was completed on 6 January 1872 and the line to Albany was completed on 26 December 1872. The take-over, of course, made the guarantee legislation void. Tenders were let to complete construction of new lines - including to the Telegraph Company.
On 24 May 1871, the Perth Inquirer reported that "The work of constructing the Inland Telegraph system projected by the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, proceeds satisfactorily, upwards of one hundred and fifty miles of posts being erected and the line cleared of timber, &c. The plant, we learn, is expected from London in about two months time and will at once be erected".
6. Acceptance of the telegraph.
By 1872, even the Press were using the telegraph lines. For example, almost every issue of the Perth Gazette would include the heading "BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH" above the main articles with a reference to one of the ten (telegraph) towns then in operation. Shipping news was a main activity for the Press.
Nevertheless, other news was being reported via the telegraph lines. For example:
Geraldton 10 December 1874 7:40 am.
J. Jackman was drowned at Shark's Bay near Foury Island.
Zephyr sailed for London this morning via Fremantle.
Perhaps these are not critically important news items on Colonial developments - but nevertheless it reflects a start on the acceptance of the telegraph by the wider community.
The bigger impact felt especially by the newspapers was that from the completion of the Adelaide-Port Darwin-England telegraph line in August 1872. Before 1872, news would reach Albany before it arrived at any of the other Colonies. The Perth Gazette of 10 January 1873 gave an insight into the impact felt in the west:
"We had hoped, not unmixed with a feeling of fear, that we could have communicated to our readers telegrams, both from home and the other colonies. But we and with us, our contemporary, the Inquirer, have been disappointed.
Other arrangements are necessitated by the completion of the telegraph line to Albany, and by the circumstance that the colonial mails for the future will arrive first and yet bring the latest news, thanks to the marvellous success of the South Australian trans-continental line now used - and most properly - by all the other colonies.
Singular to say, the latest intelligence will be from Melbourne. It is scarcely to be credited that the messages from Europe, transmitted with all transcribing and delays, arrive there within 48 hours. As we have no home or even colonial telegrams to communicate, we must fill up with our colonial stock in hand".
In the Legislative Council of 18 July 1884, the Colonial Secretary said that in the erection of the proposed new line of telegraph between Perth and Fremantle, porivision would be made that the posts needed may also be utilised for public communication by telephone.