Monday 17 October 2022
The Overland Telegraph – Open for Business
Presented by Richard Venus
150 years ago, this week (21 October 1872), communication in Australia changed forever – after two years of challenges, struggles, setbacks and disappointments, Australia’s greatest infrastructure project was open for business.
In these days of instant communication, its hard to imagine the transformational impact of the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) which this year celebrates its sesquicentenary. Messages with “Home” (England) could be not just sent but exchanged in hours rather than months.
Richard will describe the background to the OTL, and the challenges faced in its construction.
Richard is a retired electrical engineer with an interest in researching and writing about South Australia’s engineering heritage and history. He has been instrumental in the national heritage recognition of both the Overland Telegraph Line and the East-West Telegraph and has followed the story of the OTL and its principal architect, Sir Charles Todd, through the Outback and as far afield as the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
Record of Meeting
View the record of all past meetings which details all talks given at meetings by guest speakers since our foundation in 1980. Most meetings since 1985 have been recorded.
| No. | * | B | T | d | doc | Date | Topic, Speaker, Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 463 | 17/10/2022 | The Overland Telegraph – Open for BusinessPresented by Richard Venus 150 years ago, this week (21 October 1872), communication in Australia changed forever – after two years of challenges, struggles,… |
Legend
B: Burnside topic
T: tape
d: disc
doc: pdf document
*: on location
Disc and Tape recordings available in the Local History Room