Charles Todd, Government Electrician

Sir Charles Todd is best known for the Overland Telegraph, but this extraordinary engineer and scientist had a significant impact on the development of not just the Colony of South Australia but the nation as a whole – an influence that persists to the modern day. Todd’s pioneering achievements in fields other than telegraphy can be well illustrated by his contributions in the field of electrical engineering – from Adelaide’s first demonstrations of electric lighting (using equipment Todd had made himself) to the defence of the Colony. It all amounts to a truly electrifying tale (a pun so bad that even Sir Charles himself might have smiled).