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Overland Telegraph Line : 1870-1872


celebrating 150 years of the
—Adelaide to Darwin— 
Overland Telegraph Line
Disclaimer:
Historical texts and images reflect the
societal attitudes of their times.
References from these texts are
not intended to cause offence.


Construction of the Overland Telegraph Line has been described as one of the 
'greatest' achievements in the history of Australian civil engineering. 

Morse code communication was 'wired' across the desert country of Central Australia, from  north to south, between Port Darwin and Port Augusta (Adelaide). Extremes in desert conditions and monsoon rains greatly challenged human endurance and compromised the exploration and construction deadline of December 31, 1871.

The first pole was 'planted' at the Darwin end of the Overland Telegraph, 15 September 1870, and construction was completed, 22 August 1872, at Frew's Pond where the 'ends' were joined in the Northern Territory. The South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs, Charles Todd (1826-1910) was given the honour of sending the first telegraph message along the line:
We have this day, within two years, completed a line of communications two thousand miles long through the very centre of Australia, until a few years ago a terra incognita believed to be a desert.--
Charles Todd, South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs, 1872

 

image:
Sir Charles Todd (1826-1910) and the Overland Telegraph team [N.T.]
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+69996/15
A note on the back of the photograph reads 'Members of the Overland Telegraph Party at Roper River [N.T.] 1872.'
Left to right: J.A.G. Little [Darwin's First Postmaster], R.C. Patterson [1844-1907] [Engineer-in-Charge of the Overland Telegraph Construction], Charles Todd [Superintendent of Telegraphs in S.A.] and A.J. Mitchell [Alexander J. Mitchell, Chief Surveyor]. Todd (later Sir Charles Todd) was one of the great men of South Australian history. The telegraph lines which he built linked Adelaide with Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Darwin (and hence by cable with the rest of the world). Todd was the first man to pioneer the centre after Stuart's first crossing to Darwin. Alice Springs (on the Todd River) was named after his wife. This photograph, taken by Captain Sweet [1825-1886], is a brilliant example of early photography in Australia and is reproduced by courtesy of the South Australian Archives.

Refer: 

The Penetration of the MacDonnell Ranges with respect to
the discovery and naming of The Alice Spring
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, 1957
Description: 12 leaves : map
Call Number: rgpam 994.291 R888
Also refer:
Officers of the Northern Territory Surveying Expedition. Photographs 
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+16791
Also refer:
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900)
Thu 21 Mar 1872 
Article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39261642 


by the end of 1872, Australia was connected to the 
new telegraph cable in Java,
and in direct communication with Europe

image: 
Map Showing the Telegraph Lines In Operation, Under Contract,
and Contemplated to Complete the Circuit of the Globe, [1869]
H. H. Lloyd & Co. Publishers, New York. C.W. & C.B. Colton

image: 
Detail from above map
Available online from Princeton University
https://commons.princeton.edu/mg/map-showing-the-telegraph-lines-in-operation-
under-contract-and-contemplated-to-complete-the-circuit-of-the-globe-1869/
Also refer:
Map dated [1872]
Boston Public Library
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:7h149w260


RGSSA 2022 Exhibition
The RGSSA's 2022 exhibition focused on items in the Collection regarding Sir Charles Todd (1826-1910) 
who was instrumental in planning and constructing the Overland Telegraph Line;
completed 150 years ago
In the first volume of our Proceedings, 1885-1886, Charles Todd, 
is 'pencilled in' as 'C.Todd' along with other names at the end of
 a printed list of founding members.
Refer:
2022 Exhibition Catalogue
'World Connections - Charles Todd and the Overland Telegraph'
pdf download, 34 pages
Available online at Google Docs
Also refer:
'Officers and members'.
RGSSA Proceedings, Vol. 1, 1885-1886
pdf download, 4 pages
Available online at Google Docs
enquiries
https://rgssa.org.au/contact-us/

image:
Sir Charles Todd, 1872. Photograph
b. 7 July 1826 at Islington, London
Awarded CMG by Queen Victoria,1872 [pictured]
(Companion Order of Saint Michael and Saint George)
Awarded, Knight Commander, KCMG, 1893
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+12209
Refer:
Telecommunications Association Inc
https://telsoc.org/journal/ajtde-v6-n1/a143#Berroeta_2016
Also refer:
https://rgssa.org.au/library/catalogue/
'Papers on Charles Todd (1826-1910) and the Overland Telegraph Line'
Files 11-19 : The Overland Telegraph Line
pdf download, 55 pages
https://rgssa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Manuscripts_Catalogue.pdf

Map held in RGSSA Collection
image:
Detail. [Plan of Overland Telegraph from Port Darwin to Katherine] 
Showing Port Darwin (Sheet no.1)
Library holds a map signed by Charles Todd 
'Postmaster-General & Supt. of Telegraphs'  
Plan of Overland Telegraph from Port Darwin to Port Augusta [cartographic material] /
compiled and drawn in the Office of the Post Master General and Superintendent of Telegraphs
[Plan of Overland Telegraph from Port Darwin to Katherine]
by: Ringwood, Alexander
Crawford, Frazer S. (Frazer Smith), -1890
Todd, Charles, Sir, 1826-1910
South Australia. Surveyor General's Office. Adelaide, 1873-1874
1 map on 4 sheets
Library holds sheet no.1 only (E129° - E133° / S12° - S15°)
Call Number: 809 gmh 1873/2
Map available online from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231438705

 

Issue held in the RGSSA Library
Illustrated Adelaide Post
Issue no. 71, 10 July 1872
Published by W.A. Cawthorne : Adelaide, 1867-1874
Serial Numbering: Vol. [1?]-no. 102 (Dec. 1874)
Later title: Australasian sketcher (Adelaide ed.)
Call Number: rgsp 079.94 I29 d

the RGSSA Library holds an extensive collection of 
19th century South Australian newspapers

THIS post intends to give an account of the Overland Telegraph Line through extracts from newspaper articles of the day. Newspapers from the 19th century provide a main historical record about the construction of the Telegraph Line and are a primary source of research information.
The responsibility of providing information to the public regarding the progress of the poles and wires and any setbacks to the construction of the Telegraph Line fell on Adelaide's newspaper editors.
Among the RGSSA's founding members in 1885 were Adelaide's prominent newspaper proprietors;
Sir John Langdon Bonython (1848–1939) of 'The Advertiser' and Sir Robert Kyffin Thomas (1851-1910) of the 'South Australian Register' (Register) and the 'Adelaide Observer'. The Adelaide Register was the colony's first newspaper, established 1837.
Refer:
Previous blog post:
https://rgssa.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-societys-desert-explorers.html


image: 
'King William Street', 1872. Photograph 
Telegraph Office, Operators Room, Adelaide 
Opened 1872
First message along the Overland Telegraph Line
recieved on 22nd October, 1872
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+8026

IN 1870, the Colony of South Australia, agreed to fund the construction of the Telegraph Line which secured the contract with the British-Australian Telegraph Company owned by John Pender (1816-1896). South Australia expected a return on the investment through new overland stock and trade routes for the colony.  Telegraph messages would also provide revenue for the colony and ensure news arrived from Europe within hours instead of several weeks by sea mail.

Sat 10 Sep 1870
'This great undertaking may now be said to be fairly in hand.'
--South Australian Register
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39199428

THE Overland Telegraph from Adelaide to Darwin and the submarine cable connection at Port Darwin from Java were to be in place by the end of 1871. Penalties for failing to meet the deadline were outlined in The Register; the article begins:
'It may not be amiss at the present time to recall attention to the terms of the agreement.' 

image:
Darwin. Fort Hill c. 1870 
Photograph by Samuel White Sweet
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+742/5/83
          
Tue 2 Jan 1872
'THE CABLE COMPLETED'
...'The British-Australian Telegraph Company has worthily fulfilled its engagement to have the cable laid to Port Darwin before the end of the year [1871]. We learn that on the 20th November— forty days before the expiry of the stipulated time— the work had been completed, and messages had passed between Mr. Finniss [Boyle Travers Finniss, 1807-1893] at Port Darwin and the Company's representatives in London. Australia has for a full month been in direct telegraphic communication with Europe, although unfortunately the colonies have not felt the advantage of the connection.'
Refer:
RGSSA Library issue held 
South Australian Register
Also titled: Register
Published by Robert Thomas and Co : Adelaide, 1839-1900
Earlier title: South Australian gazette and colonial register (1836)
Later Title: Register (Adelaide, S. Aust.)
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d 
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39263103

 

image: 
Detail. Landing the telegraph cable ashore at Port Darwin, 1871
C.S. Hibernia  (cable ship) is shown at anchor in the bay.
In 1870, the C.S. Hibernia laid the cable from Singapore to Batavia. In 1871, the Hibernia and 
the C.S. Edinburgh laid the cable (1,082 nm) from Banjoewangie (Java) to Darwin. 
In 1876, the new Eastern Extension Company again used the Hibernia and Edinburgh  to lay 
the cable (1,283 nm) from Sydney to Wellington, New Zealand.
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+16


CHARLES TODD was recommended by the Colonial Office in London as a suitable superintendent of telegraphs, arriving in Adelaide, November 1855.
Todd was appointed to take charge of the Telegraph Line, 10 June 1870.
Newspapers referred to the Postmaster-General as 'Telegraph Todd' but, perhaps, his wife Alice is better known today. 
On 18 March 1871, William Whitfield Mills (1844-1916), was exploring for a way through the MacDonnell Ranges (N.T.) for the Telegraph Line, writing in his diary; 'numerous waterholes and springs, the principal of which is the Alice Spring which I had the honour of naming after Mrs Todd'. However, a debate still exists as to whether John Ross (1817-1903) was the first European explorer to see and name the Spring a few days earlier than Mills on 11 March 1871.

Alice Springs was chosen as a suitable telegraph station.
image:
'Lady Todd photographed soon ater her marriage in 1855'
Alice Gillam Todd (1836-1898), nee Bell, b. Cambridge, England
Chronicle, Thu 15 Oct 1953
A promotion for a series of articles by Lorna Todd about her father, Charles Todd.
Chronicle Published: Adelaide, SA : 1895-1954
Full article available online from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93989286

 
image:
'Stations' [Telegraph stations or repeater stations north from Port Augusta]
'Adelaide and Port Darwin Telegraph'
Report by C. Todd, Esquire, C.M.G., on the Construction and Completion
of the Adelaide and Port Darwin Line of Telegraph.
[Laid before the Conference by Sir Henry Ayers.]
Post Office and Telegraph Department, Telegraph Branch, 
General Post Office, Adelaide, 1st January 1873.
Available online at Google Docs

 

image:
'Water-hole, Alice Springs', April/May 1872. Photograph
Refer:
Fought and Won
by John Lewis (1844-1923) 
Published: Adelaide : W.K. Thomas & Co, 1922
Description: xviii, 243 p., [25] leaves of plates, : ill., 1 folded map, portrait
Call Number: rga 994.03 L674
Available online from:
Hathi Trust Digital Library
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011439978

THE proposed northern route of the Telegraph Line from Adelaide was successfully pioneered by the Scottish explorer, John McDouall Stuart (1815-1866); on his 6th attempt in 1861-1862. Stuart mapped water supplies, noted the best places for river crossings, sourced timber for telegraph poles and possible routes for steam trains. 
However, an Adelaide to Darwin deisel train service was only realised in 2004.
Stuart returned to Adelaide in October, 1863, and was hailed as a hero of the colony. Newspapers claimed that the 'veil of the Centre' was lifted and would lead to further prosperity and settlement of the colony; a telegraph line traversing the continent to Darwin was indeed possible.

image: 

John McDouall Stuart (1815-1866), c. 1860. Photograph
b. 7 September, 1815 at Dysart, Fife, Scotland
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+3724
Refer:
John McDouall Stuart 
ABC Local Stories
https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/04/20/2965737.htm
  

image: 

Held in RGSSA Manuscript Collection
Diaries of John McDouall Stuart (1815-1866)
2 volumes. Handwritten in pencil.
With the diaries are two leaves bearing parts of what appear to
be the manuscript or draft of Stuart's report on the expedition.
Volumes dated:
29 Nov. 1860—3 July 1861 ; 4 July 1861—5 Sep. 1861
Refer:
2016 RGSSA Exhibition Catalogue 
pdf download, 12 pages
https://rgssa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Exhib2016.pdf

IN July 1870, Charles Todd engaged John Ross (1817-1903)
 on the recommendation of Thomas Elder (1818-1897)
 to explore the best route north and advance on Stuart's earlier explorations. 

Tue 28 Mar 1871
'Mr. John Ross has completed his second exploratory trip, having penetrated
to latitude 21°—a point about 140 miles within the tropics, and 60 miles to the
northward of Central Mount Stuart.'
South Australian Register 
Full article available from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39242057

image: 
Detail. Plan of Explorations by Mr. J Ross, 1874
Refer:
Mr. J. Ross's explorations, 1874
Author: Ross, John, 1817-1903.
Published: [Adelaide. Govt. Printer], 1875
Series: Parliamentary paper (South Australia. Parliament) ; 1875, no. 67
Description: 5 p., 1 folded leaf of plates : map ; 34 cm.
Call Number: rgsp 919.42043 G724 c rgsp 919.423043 S726
RGSSA catalogue record
Available online from:
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-989015216

South Australian Register. Adelaide, Thu 25 Aug 1870—
Overland Telegraph Officers.—The following complete list of the officers appointed in connection with the Overland Telegraph was laid on the table of the Assembly by the Treasurer on Wednesday, August 24 [1870]:—Explorer, John Ross; Surveyor, William Harvey; Overseer of Works, Northern Territory, W. McMinn (1844–1884); Sub-Overseer, R. C. Burton; Operators, J. L. Stapleton [James Lawrence, d. 1874, killed at Barrow Creek, N.T.] and A. Hawley [Andrew Howley?]. Surveyors and Overseers central portion of line—A. T. Woods, G. R. McMinn [1841–1924], and R. N. Knuckey [Richard Randall Knuckey, 1842-1914]; Overseer, James Beckwith (d. 3 Mar 1872); Sub-Overseers, J. F. Roberts, Stephen Jarvis, W. W. Mills, Charles Musgrave (d. 1875), and Christopher Giles.
Issue held in the Library
Refer:
South Australian Register
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d
RGSSA catalogue record
Full article available online from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39195821/3956983
Also refer:
Adelaide Observer
Sat 27 Aug 1870
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158942005


image:
Overland Telegraph Party,  c.1872. Photograph
[Overland Telegraph Party Leaders. Published in "The Overland Telegraph Line", J.B. Richards, 1914. 
The names of the expeditioners have been written on to the photograph. They include: William McMinn, Richard Randall Knuckey, A.G. Woods ['A.T. Woods' in Register article], W.W. Mills, R.A. Horn, Bromley, C. Musgrave [Charles W. Musgrave d. 1875], T Naish.]
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+10451


image:
RGSSA Library issue held
Wednesday, 10 July 1872
'The Northern Territory. Jungle Near Port Darwin'
Illustrated Adelaide Post
Call Number: rgsp 079.94 I29 d

Sat 31 December 1870—
The Overland Telegraph
'Amongst our exchanges from Europe is a weekly paper devoted to the laudable object of circulating in England news from the southern colonies. It bears the title of the Australian and New Zealand Gazette, ...
This daring project was adopted at once, not only by the Government, but by the people of South Australia with the same impulsive enthusiasm which a few years ago induced them to rush into that costly and up to this time unrealized project, of establishing a settlement in the Northern Territory. Although we cannot justly say that this project is as yet a failure, its promises of success are still very doubtful, and in any case it is certain to be ruinously expensive, and we are greatly inclined to fear will be productive of much costly litigation, prejudicial both to the finances and to the monetary credit of the colony in England. We should have thought that the experiment of the Northern Territory settlement would have satisfied the good people of South Australia for a time at any rate, and that before they assumed the cost and risk of laying down a telegraph line through the whole extent of the Australian Continent, they would have first disposed of the 'white elephant' already on their hands.'--reprinted from the Australian and New Zealand Gazette : London
this article concludes—
'South Australia does not require to be reminded from England that she has taken in hand a weighty and to some extent a hazardous task; ...
Of course, the fact that we are committed to the work overrides all other considerations; but there is nothing in its prospects to warrant despair on our part, or the immoderate censure of our English critics. There is now fair reason to hope that the preliminary difficulty of construction will be overcome, and, should the line not prove a financial success for years, it will present collateral advantages that must go far to reconcile us to the loss of revenue. It is asserted that had the telegraph been available this year, the facilities it would have afforded for bringing down from India at a moment's notice vessels ready to take wheat to England would have benefited the colony to the full extent of the estimated cost of the land line.'--South Australian Register, Sat 31 Dec 1870
RGSSA Library issue held 
Refer:
South Australian Register
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d 
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39205079
Refer:
Reports on Overland Telegraph construction 
Author:Todd, Charles, Sir, 1826-1910
Patterson, Robert C.
Corporate Author: South Australia. Parliament. House of Assembly
Published: [Adelaide : Govt. Printer], 1872
Description: 20 p. : 1 folded plan
Call Number: rgsp 919.423043 S726
Notes: Ordered by the House of Assembly to be printed, May 2nd, 1872.
Summary: Copies of correspondence received from Charles Todd... and R.C. Patterson... relative to the progress made in the construction of the Northern Territory section of the Adelaide and Port Darwin Telegraph.


inter-colonial jealousies raged...
IN 1854, the opening of Australia's first telegraph line between Melbourne and Williamstown (a nearby port settlement) brought a ground swell of pressure to bear on the colonial governments to establish telegraphic communication with Europe. 
Competition between the Australian colonies was fierce to secure the route of the telegraph line. 
 
Sat 17 Jun 1871
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH. 
Mr. Todd's Vindication.
A recent report of Mr. Cracknell, superintendent of Queensland Telegraphs, upon which we have already commented, and many of the fallacies of which we have already exposed, has not escaped the notice of Mr. Todd. Its statements were so studiously framed to prejudice the interests of the Port Augusta and Port Darwin Telegraph in the eyes of the other colonies that they required some authoritative reply, and this our Superintendent of Telegraphs has now furnished in a carefully-prepared paper, already in print, and bearing date May 19th.  It quotes in extenso Mr. Cracknell's account of the course of negotiations with the British Australian Company and his remarks derogatory to the South Australian land line, and, without challenging the former, proceeds to show that the latter are open to serious objection. The allegations upon which it especially dwells are that the country traversed is little better than a desert; that in dry seasons it is for the most part devoid of permanent surface-water; that feed for cattle cannot be obtained; and, finally, that the line is not being erected in so substantial a manner as the Queensland line.--South Australian Register 

this article continues— 

'Mr. Todd applies himself to explain first the manner in which the construction work has been put in hand and the progress made with it, and secondly the character of the line and the provision for its maintenance. The total length to be covered is from 1,700 to 1,800 miles, and in laying out the route great care is being taken to avoid flats or low lands subject to inundation, and to keep near to permanent water. The first 500 miles of the line, as well as the length between Port Darwin and the Roper, have been let by contract, the interior sections are being carried out by five Government parties, and there are separate contracts for the cartage of stores and materials from Port Augusta as far as latitude 19½°.'


image:
Darwin. Base camp in the saddle, c. 1870. Photograph 
Fort Point, with the Gulnare in distance. 
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+742/5/93

'It is nothing but fair to give the succeeding paragraphs in the Superintendent's own words: —
"The route selected for the overland line is not a new one, nor is the nature of the country under a variety of seasons unknown to us. The late Mr. Stuart, in his several journeys, saw it under all aspects, and traversed it in the driest seasons. His last, and successful journey was accomplished under most adverse circumstances. In several places no rain had fallen for many months, and yet he reports, at its termination, that with the exception of two nights he was never without a sufficient supply of water, and that he saw no difficulty in taking over a herd of horses at any time. 
During the last severe drought many thousands of sheep were sent north of the Neales [River] or north of Lake Eyre, where the country was well watered and feed abundant; and the experience of our own parties now at work in the centre shows that the country is much better watered than is generally supposed—that, in fact, with ordinary care, and with proper means of storage, there is no reason to anticipate, more difficulty in maintaining stations anywhere along the route we follow than would have first been experienced in many districts now thickly settled and under cultivation.  
From a little north of latitude 27°, our working parties have found an abundance of fine gum-trees, making splendid poles, extending up to the MacDonnell Ranges, and the line is progressing rapidly, and beyond the MacDonnell Ranges the explorations of Mr. Stuart, and the more recent journey of Mr. Ross, show that there is no great distance without timber; indeed, the further we get north the less appear to be our difficulties in respect to both water and timber."--South Australian Register, Sat 17 Jun 1871
Refer:
RGSSA Library issue held 
South Australian Register
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d 
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39252027


image:
Roper River (N.T.) Camp, c.1871. Photograph
[General description.
Men are posing amongst a large group of tents in a bush clearing beside the Roper River. 
On back of photograph. 'Roper River Camp / 1871-72']
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+69996/15


Sat 22 Jul 1871 
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH
'The following is a list of men selected by Mr. Patterson on Thursday morning.'-- Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843-1904)
Available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158944849

Sat 14 Oct 1871
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH
...It was expected that Sections A, B, C, and D would be completed by this time, and that the parties would be waiting instructions to proceed north to the assistance of Mr. Patterson—and as Mr. Todd advised Mr. Woods of the breakdown in the Northern Territory—and instructed him, by special mail dispatched in July last, to send a working party north of Section E, we may hope that some progress will have been made before the party dispatched from Palmerston will have reached the scene of their operations.
Not the least cheering item of news is that there had been four days of heavy rain, on and off, between Section A and the second depot on Section B, leaving plenty of water in the clay pans and waterholes along the line. How much further north the rains extended is not known. South of Section A and down to the Boorloo Springs [S.A., near N.T. border] the weather has been dry.  
South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail  
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1868-1881 
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92266604/8392698 

 

image:
Item held in RGSSA Collection
RGSSA Council Meeting. Proceedings, December 21, 1918:
'A cordial vote of thanks was passed to the President [John Lewis] for
his gift of a despatch-bag [above] made in Central Australia and used by 
him on the estafette [archaic: mounted courier] during the construction  
of the Transcontinental telegraph line.' 

John Lewis (1844–1923) was President of the RGSSA from 1913-20. 
The annual RGSSA Awards include grants for geographical education
and research named in his honour.
b. 12 February at Brighton, Adelaide, S.A.

'John Lewis', frontispiece. Photograph
Fought and Won
Published: Adelaide : W.K. Thomas & Co, 1922
Call Number: rga 994.03 L674
 
the end of the Line    
An islolated outreach, 2575 km (1,600 miles) north of Adelaide in the Northern Territory, saw the completion of the Overland Telegraph Line. Engineer, R.C. Patterson, tested the line tapping out a message in Morse. 
John Lewis was present, writing on this experience:
On 22 August, I went with Patterson and Mitchell to a point a few miles east of Frew's Ironstone Ponds, where the two ends of the wire were to be joined, connecting Adelaide with Port Darwin.
We met Will Harvey who told us the wires would not be joined until 12 o'clock, so we returned to camp, then made for the last join and arrived there at about 12 o'clock.
At ten minutes past twelve on 22 August, 1872, the wires were really joined. Twenty-one shots were fired from our Colt revolvers, and a bottle of supposed brandy was broken over the last post (I think it was cold tea).
Among those present were Messrs. Patterson, Rutt, Mitchell, Howley, Ricks, Hands, Bayfield, Hack, and myself.
It had long been a desire of mine to see the wire connected between South and North.--John Lewis
Refer:
Fought and won. 'Telegraph wires Port Darwin to Adelaide joined on 22nd August, 1872.'--Chapter IX
Also refer:
An Epic of Courage — Just 100 Years Ago
Full article available online from:
University of Queensland Espace
pdf download, 39 pages https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:207991/s00855804_1970_1971_9_2_95.pdf

 

image:
Map showing Frew's Ironstone Ponds where the 'ends' met.
John McDouall Stuart came across this water hole on 15 April 1862 which he named Frew's Water Hole in his diary entry, 16 April 1862. James Frew (1840-1877) was a member of Stuart's successful 6th expedition that crossed the continent from south to north. On 1 May 1862, Stuart recorded his reason for the name; 'I have named "Frew's Water Hole," in token of my approbation of his care of, and attention to, the horses.'
 

image:
Members of John McDouall Stuart's Expedition Party, c. 1861. Photograph
Front Row: J. Frew, W.D. Kekwick [William Darton Kekwick, 1822-1872], 
F.G. Waterhouse [Frederick George Waterhouse, 1815-1898] and S. King [Stephen King, 1841-1915].
Back Row: W.P. Auld [W. Pat Auld, 1840-1912] , J.W. Billiatt [John William Billiatt, 1842-1919] and F.W. Thring [Francis William Thring, 1837-1908].
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+280/1/15/1109
Refer:
South Australian Register
Mon 25 Nov 1872
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
OFFICERS' DINNER.
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39266441


image:
Frew's Pond, Northern Territory, c.1870. Sketch. 
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+9576

 
Adelaide Observer
23 Jan 1926
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
'From ALFRED GILES [1847?-1931]:—Permit me, as a member of Mr. John Ross's exploring expedition in 1870, to correct one or two errors in that interesting article by your special reporter, on incidents connected with the great work. Writing of Providence Knoll, he says:—"To-day Providence Knoll, which was named by the pioneering line party, is mentioned by telegraphists and linemen as the saviour of Ross's party." This should read "Rutt's" party. It was named by Mr. C. W. Rutt, who was in charge of that section of the construction work. The flood happened in February and March, 1872. It was the biggest one ever known, and the Roper River, in places, was 30 miles wide. Again, your reporter says, "The north and south portions were linked up on August 22. 1872, near to Central Mount Stuart. This is also quite an oversight, as the ends of the wires were joined at that date at Frews Ironstone Pond, which is 300 miles north of Mount Sturt—not Stuart. Ross's party had passed through the continent months before "Providence Knoll" was known or named but, nevertheless, it is a picturesque and historic spot.'
Available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/166330701
Refer:
Exploring in the 'seventies and the construction of 
the Overland Telegraph Line
Line
by: Alfred Giles (1847?-1931)
Published: Adelaide : W.K. Thomas, 1926? 
Description: xii, 172 p. : ill., ports. fold., map
Call Number: rgsp 919.42043 G472
Refer:
Available online from:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-211081884 

 

image:
'Alfred Giles (the author), 1878.'
Exploring in the 'seventies and the construction
of the Overland Telegraph Line
Frontispiece
Call Number: rgsp 919.42043 G472


Map of Overland Telegraph Stations
Exploring in the 'seventies and the construction
of the Overland Telegraph Line
Call Number: rgsp 919.42043 G472


PRIOR to 1863 the Northern Territory (N.T.) was part of New South Wales. From 1863-1911, the N.T. was annexed to the Colony of South Australia; officially, the Northern Territory of South Australia. Distances are so vast that early explorers 'talk' in degrees of latitude and about crossing the 26th parallel into the Northern Territory; colloquially, the 'Top End'. Palmerston was the name chosen for the capital of the Territory in 1864 and renamed Darwin in 1911.

George Woodroffe Goyder (1826-1898) was a founding member of the RGSSA, and as the Surveyor General of South Australia, lead the first survey party to arrive at Port Darwin, 5 February 1869, on the SS Moonta. Palmerston was mapped and surveyed in about five weeks; the surrounding port was always known as Port Darwin. From 1861, Goyder regularly suffered bouts of scurvy on expeditions and was forced to return to Adelaide from Darwin due to ill health in 1869. 



image:
Members of the Northern Territory Surveying Expedition, 1869.
Knuckey’s camp. Taken by expedition photographer, Joseph Brooks.
Available online from:
https://lant.nt.gov.au/explore-nt-history/surveying-darwin-1869#

Sat 31 Dec 1870
THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
...[E]xtract from a letter sent to Mr. J. Darwent by Mr. Charles Tym, who is in charge of one of the construction parties of the Port Darwin Telegraph Line in the Northern Territory :—"River Elizabeth, October 20, 1870.—The party I am in charge of have done very well, considering the amount of work there is to do. I can assure you the clearing has been very heavy; in fact, the 25 miles we have had to do between Port Darwin and the above place has been a regular forest all the way, which makes it slower work than I like. ... 
An accident occurred to one of the men the other day from the falling of some timber, breaking his leg, but he is progressing as well as possible, although the weather is rather warm for the poor fellow. ...  
The Gulnare has been to Timor for buffaloes, goats, fruits, &c., for the settlement, and I can assure you they were very acceptable, especially the fruits. ... 
The Roper party came across Stuart's track on the Fanny River, and his initials on a tree, and in every way they found the description given by the late explorer perfectly correct. All doubts as to his crossing the continent may be now dispelled. Kekwick's Springs were also found with the initials 'J.M.D.S.' on the tree.--The Adelaide observer
Refer:
RGSSA catalogue record
The Adelaide observer [newspaper]
Adelaide observer
Serial Numbering: Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1, 1843)-v. 61, pt. 2, no. 3300 (Dec. 31, 1904)
Place: Adelaide, S. Aust.
Publisher: John Stephens
Date Published: 1843-1904
In (Source): Index to the Adelaide observer, 1880-1904, and the Observer, 1905-1908
Description: v. : ill. ; 44-70 cm.
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 A228 d
RGSSA Holdings: 1844-1847
Notes: Caption title. Ferguson no. 3542. Publisher varies. Originally published as weekly country summary of the Register newspaper. First photographic illustration appears in issue of 26 Oct. 1895; regular pictorial content from 14 March 1896, as a four page supplement from 22 Feb. 1902. 6-monthly indexes were issued from 1880-1904. These were later copied and bound into one volume and also microfilmed.
Later title: Observer (Adelaide, S. Aust.)
Full article available online from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158941849

image:
'Gulnare' at Southport, Port Darwin, c.1871
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+840
[On front of photograph. '"Gulnare" at Southport, Port Darwin / From Captain Sweet's negative.' [written in] Another hand '1871-72.' [General description] The "Gulnare", Captain Sweet's two masted schooner, is seen at anchor, her masts reflected in the water. She was the supply vessel for Goyder's Northern Territory survey expedition. On the right tents can be seen and men are posing for the photographer, in boats and on the jetty. On her return journey the ship grounded on a reef and was condemned.]

WORK on the Telegraph Line was contracted and divided into three sections. The northern section worked south from Port Darwin to Tennant Creek; the central section from Tennant Creek to Alberga Creek; and the southern section ran north from Port Augusta to Alberga Creek under contract to Edward Meade Bagot (1822-1886).

By the end of September 1870, five government parties had provisioned
at Port Augusta and gone north—
 
Sat 21 Jan 1871
OVERLAND TELEGRAPH CONSTRUCTION
...On October 1 [1870] four members of the party, Messrs. Servant, Brown, sen., Brown, jun., and Everitt (cook), joined Mr. Abbot, the inspector of the first [southern] section of the line (250 miles), and on that day the first pole of the Overland Telegraph was planted; Mr. Towler, who is manager for the contractors, superintending the operation. The exploit of name inscribing was of course performed on the post by several, who could not allow so time-honoured a custom to die out.
...We understand that timber towards the end of Mr. Bagot's section and the commencement of the Government's is very scarce; and as the iron poles, ordered from England, have not yet arrived, it would no doubt be more expeditious to cart up the poles, which are now 200 miles on the road, rather than wait the arrival of the English articles.--Adelaide Observer
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159528597

Also refer:
South Australian Register
Adelaide, 7 Jan 1873
Full article available from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39300900


image:
The Overland Telegraph
Division of the Overland Telegraph Line into 3 sections
Northern section: 1200 km (700 miles) 
Central section:      960 km (600 miles)  
Southern section:  800 km (500 miles)
Available online from:
pdf download, 57 pages 
https://www.telegraphpoleappreciationsociety.org/images/userImages/oz/the-overland-telegraph1.pdf
Please note: 
distances quoted above may vary depending on source of reseach material 


the contract for the northern section
Joseph Darwent (c.1824–1872) and William Trevett Dalwood [c.1834–1909] of Darwent & Dalwood in Adelaide were contracted to start the northern section of the Telegraph Line and build south from Port Darwin to the 'King' (River).
The construction team arrived at Port Darwin from Adelaide, 9 September 1870, with everything on board ship for the build and a work crew of some 75 men who were paid 4s 6d per day. The cargo included all telegraphic equipment; wagons, drays, bullocks, horses and food supplies. After completing 90 miles (145 km) of line; the rainy season set in on 8 November which lead to the cancellation of the contract on 3 May, 1870. Despite bogged vehicles and a strike, another hundred miles (161 km) had been cleared and poles erected by mid-March 1871. Charles Todd personally finished wiring the remainder of the section.

Wed 21 Sep 1870
Overland Telegraph.
(Adelaide Observer)
THE departure of the Omeo, chartered for the conveyance of Messrs. Darwent and Dalwood's party for the construction of the northern portion of the overland telegraph, was the occasion of a considerable amount of excitement at the port on Saturday afternoon (20th ultimo), where a large number of persons had assembled to take farewell of their friends, and to wish "God speed" to the enterprise.
...The expedition consists of Messrs. W. A. Paqualin (in charge), J. Darwent, S. King [Stephen King, 1841-1915], C. [Charles] Tyms (officers), and seventy-five men. It is accompanied by Messrs. McMinn and Burton [R.C. Burton], superintendents on behalf of the Government, and Messrs. Stapleton and Hawley [?Andrew Howley, d. 9 July 1924], Telegraph operators and Sub-overseers. The muster being completed Mr. Joseph Darwent addressed the men, expressing himself gratified to find that every man had answered to his name. He spoke of the importance of the work they had undertaken, and trusted they would all do their best to bring it to a successful termination. He informed them that if the work were completed in twelve months instead of the term of their agreement—fifteen months—they would, in addition to their pay for the full period, be entitled to a bonus of £1000. He assured them that everything had been done to ensure their health and comfort during the expedition, and he felt sure they would have no ground of complaint on the score of provisions. He then introduced the officers and the men. Mr. Dalwood, who accompanies the party as far as Port Darwin, also addressed a few words to the party. He said he knew many of the party, and believed they would all do their best to bring the work to a successful.
Refer:
The Adelaide Observer 
Adelaide observer
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 A228 d
RGSSA Holdings: 1844-1847
Full article available from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1329630


image: 
Port Darwin, c. 1870
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+4638
[On back of photograph. 'Planting the first pole of the north-south trans continental telegraph line, Port Darwin.
Among those present were: Palmer, R.E. Burton [R.C. Burton?], Dr. Furnell (?), Dr. Milner, D.D.Daly, Miss Douglas, W.T. Dalwood [c. 1834–1909], Mrs. W.T. Dalwood, Willie Douglas, A.T. Childs, Mr. Douglas, Captain Douglas, F.W. Dalwood, Miss Douglas, W.U. Paqualin, W. McMinn [1844–1884], Miss B. Douglas, Jas. Darwent, Mason, Fordham, ....Stapleton.  (Names from original photo lent by Miss B. Dalwood)]

the consequences of 'the wet'
Charles Todd had no experience of the wet season in the tropical Top End with its two seasons; six months of 'the wet' and six months of 'the dry'. The wet season runs from November through to April.
The Omeo arrived in Darwin at the end of the dry season in September, 1870. In November, with severe electrical storms day and night, the rain worsened, bringing the annual monsoon rains from the north; 'the wet'. By January 1871, Darwin was a bog; wagons and packhorses could not get out of Darwin or cross the raging rivers to take supplies to the camps further south. 
Men camped at the Katherine were starving.
Malaria, dysentery, and other diseases were rife from Darwin to the Roper River camps. Some of the men were sick with fever after being soaked to the skin for two or three weeks in makeshift camps. Food ran out and medicines were insufficient. Thirty eight inches of rain fell south of the Katherine in December and January 1871.
When Ross arrived at Darwent and Dalwood's northern camps, ill with scurvy, he was shocked to find the camps deserted; rolls of wire, piles of insulators and wagons were abandoned with no sign of human life. Construction of the telegraph line in the north had been abandoned.
There was only six months left to complete the line; an impossible task. It would take six months for a bullock team to haul one wagon carrying six tons from Port Augusta to the newly discovered Alice Springs, seven hundred miles from the end of the abandoned line in the North.
In June 1871; Ross, Giles and a company of men, rode 120 miles south of Port Darwin, on exhausted horses, to Yam Creek at the end of the telegraph wire. They were the second party of white men to successfully cross the continent. The fate of the Overland Telegraph depended upon Ross getting a message through to Adelaide for help.


image:
The Express and Telegraph, Monday 15 August 1870
Advertisement
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1867-1922


Tue 2 Jan 1872
South Australian Register 
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
...But for the avoidance of the Roper [River, N.T.]—a well-meant but ill-advised act of excessive caution on the part first of Messrs. Darwent & Dalwood, and then of Captain Hart [John Hart, 1809–1873]—the line would in all probability have been ready to convey messages early in 1872. But it is no use crying over spilt milk. The land line will not only be unfinished at the close of the present year, but there will, according to the fragmentary accounts that have reached us, be a wide gap to be filled upon the 31st December next. The whole of this gap will be in the northern section. 
Refer:
South Australian Register 
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900 
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39263103
Also refer:
South Australian Register
Thu 19 Aug 1875
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40092934


image:
Captain John Hart (1809-1873), c. 1865. Photograph. 
'He should have been credited for the success of
the Overland Telegraph Line.'
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+6684 

THE 1871 wet season caused the contractors to abandon work on the northern section of the Overland Telegraph and 'the wet' of 1872 almost brought disaster to the Government parties who replaced them. 
When Charles Todd received Patterson's desperate message for aid and reinforcements, he immediately sailed from Adelaide in the Omeo with 80 horses and stores. It was a terrible voyage around Queensland and Torres Strait in the middle of a cyclone with the animals on board. 


image:
Roper River jetty and fleet, c. 1872
Photograph by Samuel White Smith. 
with the Omeo (left), the Bengal (right) and Young Australian in front of the Omeo
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+742/5/97

Three vessels successfully navigated the flood-swollen Roper river, the Omeo, Bengal and Young Australian, landing horses and stores at Leichhardt Bar that had been surrounded for weeks by five miles of floodwaters. Fifty packhorses were sent through the flood and bog as far south as Daly Waters to save the construction gangs from starvation.

Thu 15 Feb 1872
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
At length we are able to furnish a few reliable facts as to the progress of the Overland Telegraph. 
...On the 15th January a storm of exceptional violence visited the North, the destroying influence of which seems to have been felt for hundreds of miles along the course of the telegraph. Between Port Augusta and Beltana it washed away poles and caused interruptions in no less than four distinct places, at each of which there is one of these treacherous flood-channels. The damage done has now been repaired, and Beltana sends in daily reports to Adelaide. From Beltana to the Gums, the wire appears to be intact, so that in reality communication has been restored, as far, as the latter station. Between the Gums and the Peake, the line has received injury in three or four places. For the most part the excessive flow of water in the creeks is responsible for this, but in one instance we hear of several poles having been shattered by lightning—an agent which in its untamed state is a potent foe to telegraphic enterprise, particularly in tropical regions.--South Australian Register
Refer:
South Australian Register 
Published: Adelaide, SA : 1839-1900 
Call Number: rgsp 079.9423 S7264 d
Full article available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39265958


image: The Roper River, from the deck of the Tararua. [Engraving, 1872]

The Roper River and the Anglo-Australian Telegraph Line
On the 25th June, 1872, the communication by telegraph and horse express between Australia and Great Britain became an accomplished fact, and the day will here after be recognised as a red letter Tuesday in the history of the Australian colonies. Communication has been established thus:— London to Palmerston by cable, and thence over the northern portion of the line by wire. The gap to Tennant's Creek has been bridged over by horse express, and from this spot to Adelaide the message has been sent by wire. The cable working splendidly, and Mr. Todd, the superintendent of South Australian telegraphs, has exchanged telegrams with the Agent-General in London, and got a reply in two days. Full particulars of the progress of the line have also been communicated to the Agent-General, who has received an order for 1000 iron poles, which he advises will reach Melbourne in October next.

...'The appearance of the country on either side of the Roper reminds me very much of the country on the banks of the rivers in China, and is admirably adapted for the cultivation of rice, maize, and in fact all kinds of tropical productions.' 

...In this issue we give engravings of a telegraph station in the far north, a view of the Roper River, and a scene in a jungle near Port Darwin. As public attention will be very much excited on this matter, we append a few extracts from Captain Sweet's [1825-1886] report on his expedition up the Roper River...--The Illustrated Adelaide Post
Wednesday, 10 July 1872
 


image: A Telegraph Station on the Overland Telegraph Line to Palmerston. [1872]
RGSSA Library issue held 
Refer:
The Illustrated Adelaide Post
Wednesday, 10 July 1872
Call Number: rgsp 079.94 I29 d
RGSSA catalogue record
Full article available online from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244705215/26857881


'The cost of the telegraph line will be £138 per mile, 
or £193,200 for the whole.' --South Australian Register 

The above costing for the Telegraph Line is the first published estimate. Bush fires and white ants played havoc with the wooden telegraph poles and ultimately the entire line was rebuilt using iron poles imported from England; an unforeseen additional cost to the construction. The final cost is said to have been two or three times the original costing but figures vary depending on the reference source. 

Thu 5 Dec 1872
THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.
With regard to the introduction of iron poles, and the probable cost, as I [Charles Todd] have already explained, provision has been made for 6,500 in the Northern Territory, where the white ants are most numerous. I advise that these poles should be placed on the line at once, because having a large number of acclimatised teams in the country, we could cart them more economically now than in a few years hence. The sudden and great rise in the price of iron has, of course, disturbed my calculation, but the wisdom of the step cannot be doubted.
The Express and Telegraph 
Adelaide, SA : 1867-1922
Full article available from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207725536


Sat 14 Sep 1872 
OVERLAND TELEGRAPH. 
..."Mistakes have been made, no doubt, but we fail to see how, without a miracle, they could have been avoided. Everything was strange, and a great deal had to be left to the chapter of accidents. The route lay through a strange country whose natural features and climate were comparatively unknown. It was found that during the rainy season the ground towards the northern end becomes so rotten that traffic is impossible, and to the loss of time arising from this circumstance the delay in opening the line must be attributed. We are afraid that when the South Australian Treasurer sits down to count the cost, he will have occasion to draw a long face. The origninal estimate was £120,000, but it is said that it has absorbed £200,000 additional.
In speaking of Mr. Todd and the credit due to him of having personally directed the operations by which the scheme has become a reality, the article says:—"This gentleman has had to contend with difficulties which would have frightened a less resolute nature. When everything was apparently going wrong 'Mr. Todd went personally to the front to direct and urge on the operations, and a new spirit was at once visible' throughout the length of the line. Not only had he to infuse some of his own activity and life into those under his command, but his skill as an organiser and administrator was severely taxed. He had to feed the detachments of his little army at long distances from the bases of their operations. Carriage for the poles had to be provided over those portions of the route which were found destitute of timber. The supply of water for so many men and animals on some sections of the line must have also been a source of the utmost anxiety and trouble. However, we can imagine that all
his cares sat lightly upon him on Thursday, the 22nd ult., when at 1 p.m. an electric current, generated at Port Darwin, told the expectant watchers in Adelaide (2,200 miles away) that the major portion of his task was done. It is a grand work, and has been nobly accomplished, and amid the well-earned congratulations which are flowing in on Mr. Todd from all quarters, we may be permitted to swell the chorus, and testify to the high estimation in which we hold this gentleman's talents and eminent services."
Refer:
South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail
Adelaide, SA : 1868-1881  
Full article available from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92703159


image:
Roper River Jetty, c. 1872. Photograph
Overland Telegraph party at the Roper River Jetty taken by Samuel White Sweet.
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+9762

RESEARCH for this post makes mention of 'five to six men' who lost their lives on the Telegraph Line mainly due to their harsh working conditions. 
The first message from the Telegraph Station at Alice Springs to Adelaide transmitted on 3 January 1871 contained the news of the death of  Mr. Charles Kraegan 'for want of water' who had been on his way north to take charge of the station.
How Kreagan Lost his Life
...'It was in this stretch of wretched sand hill country that Mr. Kraegan of the Telegraph Department died from thirst. This was in the early days of the overland line service, and Messrs. Watson (the first stationmaster at Barrow's Creek), Mueller (at one time stationmaster at Alice Springs), and Kraegan and others were on their way to Alice Springs. The three named got separated somehow from the main party, and started along the telegraph line in the direction of Alice Springs. They miscalculated their first day's journey, and passed by the spot where they could have obtained water. When they found their mistake Watson and Mueller started away from the line to look for water, but Kraegan preferred to stick to the line. His companions had a narrow escape, but they managed to hold out till they reached water. Kraegan died from thirst, and was not found for several days, when his body was discovered alongside the telegraph line. His grave is close to the spot where he was found in the very heart of this sandhill country.'--South Australian Register, 10 Jul 1891
Full article available from:
Trove. National Library of Australia
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48244839
Also refer:
THE LATE MR. KRAEGEN OF THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH PARTY
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61880156
Research has not found the names of all those who perished working on the construction, however, include; Charles Palmer, a teamster, died near Mount Stuart; Edward Privett died from scurvy, 31 March 1872, and Thomas Harvey from fever, 23 March 1872. 
Refer:
South Australian Advertiser 
Wed 22 May 1872
Full artictle available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28685625

About 10,000 sheep and cattle were driven an average of 805 km (500 miles) to supply rations for the construction teams. A 15m (50 ft.) wide track was cleared through the scrub, stone, and sand; building material was carted in for the telegraph stations (repeater stations) that were about 200 miles apart. A 22 room station was built at Darwin. Not a single white man was killed by the local aboriginal people during the work although it was thought that they would be unfriendly.

image:
Darwin, c. 1880. Photograph
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+5062

The telegraph line comprised some 36,000 posts; supported by the necessary pins, insulators, batteries and almost 3000km of galvanised telegraph wire. Everything was transported in by bullocks and horse drawn wagons. Afghan cameleers were also recruited to carry food and supplies to workers along the central and southern sections giving rise to the name of the famous Ghan train line from Adelaide to Darwin.


image:
Activities on the Overland Telegraph Line c. 1872. Photograph
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+18699

Sat 27 Jan 1872
...'We regret to learn that information is to hand by central telegram that Mr John Millner, who with his brother has been for some months past been engaged in driving sheep across the continent, has been killed by the natives of Attack Creek, about 50 miles north of section E. This station takes its name from the fact that Stuart, whilst on his expedition, was here assailed by the blacks in considerable numbers. The incident is an exceedingly melancholy one in the record of a peculiarly plucky undertaking.'--
Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW)
Full artictle available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145061039

Attack Creek is where Stuart turned back from his 1860 expedition to cross Australia after a hostile encounter with Warumungu Aboriginal people.

MEMORIES OF OVERLAND TELEGRAPH MEN.
The First Messages.
'Mr. Knuckey, who was a surveyor, chief of the Section A party, between lat. 27 and lat. 25.30, remembered the completion of the line on August 22, 1872, when the late Sir Charles Dodd at Central Mount Stuart (or 'Sturt, which was the name given to it by Stuart, after his former leader) received from Darwin the first telegraphic message from England and, with a pocket relay, flashed it across the southern section to Adelaide. A reply message told the lonely party outback that the Adelaide Town Hall bells were being rung in honour of the completion of the telegraphic communication with the motherland.
'We left Adelaide on August 29, 1870,' said Mr. Knuckey, 'and it took us three weeks to discover a road through the MacDonnell Ranges. Yet by December 1, 1871, we had on our section of the work 120 miles of wire slung across Central Australia. All along we had to find the track, wood and water for fuel, and the poles for the telegraph line. We never had any trouble with the aborigines, but we would never allow any of them to come to the camp for fear of treachery.'
Richard Randall Knuckey (1842-1914), often referred to as R.R. Knuckey and popularly known as Dick Knuckey, was a surveyor on the Overland Telegraph Line in central Australia from 1871 to 1872. He later became Chief Officer at the Electric Telegraph Department in Adelaide.'--Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 - 1916)  Tue 28 Jul 1914 
Full artictle available online from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/33581457/4186859

image:
Cable layers in Port Darwin, c.1890. Photograph.
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+53805

Refer:
The Science Show. ABC RN radio broadcast, 23 Jul 2022 : 54 minutes
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/celebrating-charles-todd/13982806



the Overland Telegraph was part of a global communication network  

In 1857, Cyrus West Field (1819-1892) of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, financed the first attempt to lay an Atlantic telegraph cable. The plan was to begin laying the cable from Ireland across the Atlantic to Newfoundland. The USS Niagara was commissioned to start the project at Valentia Island and splice the cable mid-ocean to the Admiralty ship, HMS Agamemnon, to complete the cable run to Newfoundland.
A portfolio of lithographs held in the Collection depicts the Atlantic Telegraph Squadron landing the cable at Valentia Island. The attempt was unsuccessful; the cable breaking and the end was lost after laying 380 nautical miles. Subsequent attempts from Ireland at Knightstown (1858) and Foilhommerum Bay (1865) also failed. A commercially viable transatlantic telegraph service was finally established in 1866 from Foilhommerum Bay to Heart's Content, Newfoundland. Transatlantic telegraphic communication operated from Valentia Island for 100 years. Western Union International terminated the telegraph service in 1966.

Laying the Atlantic telegraph cable from ship to shore : a series of sketches drawn on the spot by John R. Isaac. London : published by Messrs Lloyd Bros & Co. Liverpool, John R. Isaac, [1857?]

Plate 2: The Ships of the Squadron
Willing Mind, Cyclops, Agamemnon, Susquehana,
Leopard, Advice, Niagara
by John R. (Raphael) Isaac, 1857
Call Number: rg 621.3828 b 1857

The Library's copy of this rare volume contains a loose sepia photograph of the cable ship, Great Eastern in 1866, pictured at the Newfoundland end of the Atlantic cable. Research found the following newspaper article:  
'Recently there was a letter [to the editor] soliciting information about survivors of the voyage of the SS Great Eastern while engaged in laying the Atlantic cable. I was employed as an extra engineer and attached to the staff of the screw department. The engineering staff of the ship for both paddle and screw were under the supervision of Mr. Beckwith as chief. The scientific staff included Captain James Anderson [1824–1893], Professor Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Daniel Gooch, Cyrus Field, [Richard] Glass, and others, afterwards knighted for eminent services. I regret, that at 86, I am very nearly the last survivor of an expedition which aroused the deepest interest in the mechanical world.'--William Cuming, St. Albans, N.Z. Daily Mail (London, England), 1926. 

Refer:
RGSSA catalogue record
https://rgssa.org.au/contact-us/
the last Morse code message
'This is Valentia Radio (EJK) signing off on wireless telegraph.
Slan libh go leir.'
'So read the last sentences of the last transmitted Morse code message from this island early this morning when Valentia Coast Radio in County Kerry marked yet another piece of communications history.'--
Mon 1 Feb, 1999
The Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/valentia-taps-out-last-morse-message-1.147529


















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All external links retrieved 24 June, 2022
Researched and posted by Sandra Thompson
RGSSA remote cataloguer
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