About this objectThe Carcoar telephone communications collection is one of the centrepiece elements of the CDHS collection. Together, these items help to piece together the evolution of twentieth century communications technology and illuminate aspects of Carcoar society at the time of the cut-over from manual to automated exchanges. The collection has strong research potential, particularly as it preserves, in time capsule form, the social structures and networks in existence in Carcoar during the 1980s. The collection is extremely well-provenanced, having been largely acquired from Telstra, its predecessor Telecom, and former employee Mrs Joan Kinghorne.
The nineteenth century saw a series of revolutions in communications technology. Von Soemmering’s 1809 electrochemical telegraph, Schilling’s 1832 electromagnetic telegraph and Cooke’s 1830s electrical telegraph pre-dated the American electrical telegraph patented by Samuel Morse in 1837. Telegraph lines would be laid in Australia from 1854 (Melbourne to Williamstown, followed by Port Adelaide to Adelaide in 1856). By 1858, an intercolonial telegraph network existed between Melbourne and Adelaide and between Melbourne and Sydney; by 1869 a successful line between Tasmania and Victoria had been installed. Following the development of the telephone, exchanges were initially rare, with telephones leased in pairs to subscribers. Signalling initially consisted of a whistle into the transmitter, but with the development of exchanges came the addition of a bell signal. Eventually an exchange was introduced in Melbourne by 1880, with coin-operated telephones appearing c.1890. In 1901, the new Commonwealth Government was granted power over telegraphic, postal, telephonic and other communications methods. This power was vested in the Postmaster-General’s Department. At this time, 22,310 telephone services were operating throughout Australia, 79% of which were located in the capital cities. Whilst the 1920s through to the 1940s saw networks in capital cities and major regional centres converted to automatic exchanges, most rural networks remained manual and rudimentary for decades to follow.
Manual exchanges such as that at Carcoar required the caller to lift the receiver off its hook and ask the operator for a connection to a requested number. This connection was accomplished manually, with the operator plugging the line into the switchboard jack corresponding to the called number.
Significance
The equipment displayed at the Carcoar Court House reflects the closure of Carcoar’s manual exchange, with cut-over to automatic taking place on 4 December 1985. The collection is of historic and research significance as it provides evidence of the technology, procedures and culture of the manual exchange in addition to encapsulating (in the form of notes and lists attached to the exchange) a picture of Carcoar society at the time of cut-over. The social significance of the exchange is evident in the lists – particularly those containing useful emergency numbers – attached to the exchange and also the messages sent to the last operators and preserved in the Object File maintained by the CDHS. The exchange was not simply a series of switches but a key human link in the communications chain. A well-provenanced collection which remains in good condition, these items are significant examples of the cultural fabric of Carcoar society and are representative of the telephone technology used in New South Wales during much of the twentieth century.
Kim Tuovinen 2010
