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One technology that has had a crucial influence on Australia, with its vast distances and isolation from the rest of the world, is telecommunications and it remains as crucial today. The earliest form of telecommunications was the electric telegraph. It was back in September 1853 that tenders were called for the construction of an experimental telegraph line from Melbourne to Williamstown a distance of 11 miles. On 3rd of March 1854 the first telegraph began operations. Within eleven years several thousands of miles of telegraph lines crossed the Australian countryside.
Description
editA telegraph is a device for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances, i.e., for telegraphy. An electrical telegraph uses electrical current and magnetism to convert the manual typing of codes that represent words, into electrical impulses. These impulses are transmitted over a metallic circuit (overhead wires or underground cables) to a distant location. At the distant location the impulses are converted into magnetic fields that operate a mechanical device to make a sound or to move a visual indicator. The operator at the receiving end converts these sounds or signals into a written message. The code is known as Morse Code.
History
editBy the mid-19th century the speediest form of communication over short distances was the semaphore system. Operated widely at capital ports and headlands to announce the arrival of shipping. In May 1844 the electric telegraph using a code of letters received at a distant station was first used. When news of Gold discoveries in Australia reached the United States in 1852 the opportunity was seen for development of telegraph in Australia.
The following table indicates the takeup of the new technology by the colonial state governments.
| State | Date |
|---|---|
| Victoria | 3 March 1854 |
| South Australia | November 1855 |
| Tasmania | 1857 |
| New South Wales | 30 December 1857 |
| Queensland | April 1861 |
| Western Australia | 21 June 1869 |
Overland telegraph lines
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