The Singing Wire

Description

The story of the Overland Telegraph.

On 22 August 1872 the construction of the Overland Telegraph line between Adelaide and Darwin was completed. It has been described as ‘the greatest engineering feat carried out in nineteenth century Australia’.

Within months it was linked to the Java-to-Darwin submarine telegraph cable, and Australia’s communication time with Europe was reduced from months to hours. Australia’s isolation from the rest of the world was lessening.