SA & NT, AUSTRALIA. — The Overland Telegraph Line was a major feat of engineering, which connected Australia to the rest of the world via a single wire.
The motivation for building the Overland Telegraph Line came from the fact that a submarine cable already reached from England to Java, and the British-Australian Telegraph Company was prepared to lay a submarine cable from Java to Darwin.
It remained only to connect Darwin to the rest of Australia.
It was logical for the line to connect first with Adelaide, as Adelaide was the closest point linking to the major centres of Melbourne and Sydney.
Thanks to the influence of Charles Todd, superintendent of telegraphs and government astronomer in South Australia, the South Australian government agreed to build a 3200 kilometre overland telegraph line connecting Darwin with Port Augusta.
The Line would closely follow the route charted by explorer John McDouall Stuart on his final expedition in 1862.
Construction of the Overland Telegraph Line took one year and eleven months, and was completed in 1872.
It was an exceptional feat, carried out in searing heat through the Australian desert, and six men lost their lives during the construction. The northern and southern sections were joined on August 22, 1872, and opened at 1:00pm, ending Australia’s isolation and finally bringing the continent into telegraphic communication with the rest of the world.
Numerous telegraphic messages were conveyed up and down the line, while the acting government representative in Port Darwin sent a greeting to the Governor of South Australia, Sir James Fergusson.
