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The Overland Telegraph THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH By Ron McMullen former Telegraphist, Telegraph Supervisor, Telegraph Instructor, Senior Postal Clerk and Postmaster in the former Postmaster-General’s Department. Several detailed books have been written on this subject so I will only briefly cover the topic. The completion of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872 from Port Augusta in South Australia to Port Darwin in the Northern Territory and connection from Darwin to Java on 20 October 1872 by sea cable, signalled the end of communication isolation from the rest of the world. Apart from being a renowned construction feat it led to the beginning of settlement in the arid central regions of Australia. Before completion of the line the only means of communication was by sea with landfall at Port Adelaide where steamers were met by reporters who quickly read the news and rushed to the telegraph office for onward transmission by Morse code to the eastern colonies. The Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart, after several attempts, pioneered the route across the continent from South to North from Adelaide to Darwin. The colony of Victoria was also interested in finding a trans continental south to north crossing and the ill fated Burke and Wills expedition came close to achieving this having reached the mangroves near the Gulf of Carpentaria, but perished on the return journey. Queensland also wanted the sea cable to be brought to Normanton and thence down the east coast of Australia. At that time the Northern Territory was part of New South Wales and with construction of a telegraph line in mind the South Australian Government successfully applied to the British Government in 1863 for annexation and in mid 1870 construction of a line between Port August and Darwin was authorised. The responsibility for construction of the line was given to the South Australian Postmaster-General, Charles Todd who had previously been Superintendent of Telegraphs. Enormous problems were presented in the construction of the line. South Australia had only a small population and therefore a correspondingly small financial base. Distance of nearly two thousand miles in desolate country inhabited only by Aborigines, extreme weather conditions of heat, and monsoonal rains and very little available water were everyday challenges. Time cost penalties were also critical with such limited finances, and completion of the line within time limits was paramount. Supplies of all types had to be moved forward as construction progressed, across a wide empty land; logistics was a feat in its own. Whilst the line was not completed within the agreed time, the end of December 1871, penalties were avoided by a last minute delay in the connection of the cable between Darwin and Java, due to cable failure, which of course was beyond the control of the South Australian Government. First Darwin Telegraph Station Construction was divided into three main sections — Southern, Central and North. The southern section from Port Augusta to the Macumba River near Oodnadatta, was contracted to private firm E. M. Bagot. The central section from Macumba to Tennant Creek was done by Government work parties as this was initially thought to have been the hardest, but subsequently turned out not to be so. This doubtful honour went to the northern section. The third section from Tennant Creek to Port Darwin was contracted to private firm, Derwent and Dalwood. Work on the southern section commenced on 1 October 1870 and was completed in January 1872. The central or Government section was divided into five subsections and each started at various times. Section A started in January 1871 and was completed in October 1871. Section B commenced in February 1871 and was completed in November 1871. Section C commenced in March 1871 and completed in December 1871. Section D commenced in May 1871 and was completed in December 1871 whilst Section E commenced in May 1871 and was completed in November 1871. By June 1872 the line had been connected to Alice Springs and communications established with Adelaide. Map showing route of the line with the three sections marked. The Northern section proved to be the most difficult and presented untold problems. All labour, equipment, livestock and supplies had to be transported from Port Adelaide to Port Darwin. The steamer ‘Omeo’ was chartered for the journey and departed on 20 August 1870 via the east coast of Australia. Additional stores and equipment had earlier been sent by the barque ‘St. Magnus’. September 9 1870 saw the unexpected arrival of the ‘Omeo’ at Darwin and on 15 September the first pole was planted at the corner of Cavenagh Street and The Esplanade. This pole was to be the first of many thousands to be erected. Work initially proceeded quickly and without too many hitches and by December, 100 miles had been erected and communication progressively established with Darwin as construction proceeded. However November - December is the time of year when ‘The Wet’ commences in northern Australia with torrential rain and numerous storms. Earlier settlers in the southern areas of Australia had no idea of this weather pattern when rivers and creeks flooded over wide areas and thick with mud for months, giving conditions in which it was almost impossible to work. This also brought diseases such as influenza and malaria which affected the workers and even heavy bullocks could not haul equipment in such appalling conditions. Even though the track had been cleared for about 500 miles it was considered that the contract was too far behind schedule and was cancelled by the government Overseer of Works. The Overseer took over all gear and stock leaving the contractors and their men out of work, no one knowing that the ‘wet season’ was almost over. The men left Darwin aboard the ‘Gulnare’ on 6 June 1871 leaving the fate of the line unknown and arrived in Adelaide on 8 July. It was decided that the Government should then take control of the northern section which still had a gap of 420 miles of line between north and south to be completed by December 1871. More equipment, livestock and supplies had to be obtained and sent north by ship. By August 1871 all had reached Darwin. Previously the line had almost reached the Roper River which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria and it was proposed to set up a camp there and use the river as a waterway for transporting goods. However the Government in Adelaide insisted that all goods go via Darwin. The weather between August and November is very hot and dry with little natural feed for livestock. A lot of time was taken up in digging for water. Animals brought from the south at that time of year did not do well on the dry conditions and many died or had to be destroyed. This made progress much slower. It was becoming increasingly evident that the deadline with the telegraph company bringing the submarine cable from Java could not be met. The cable was completed on 19 November 1871 and Australia was in contact with the rest of the world. The contract with the British- Australian Telegraph Company stated that if the overland line had not been completed by the end of 1871 that company could take over any unfinished section, complete it and use it until all their expenses had been met or alternately extend the line to wherever it wished possibly leaving South Australia without the connection and in great debt. Charles Todd then decided that the Roper River was much closer to the line than Darwin and must be used as a supply line to the work sites. A small paddle wheel steam tug, ‘Young Australian’ was purchased for this purpose. The next season of ‘the wet’ had now arrived and with deteriorating conditions food supplies were running short. A supply ship ‘Bengal” could not sail against floodwaters rushing down the Roper and boats from the ‘Bengal’ loaded with food were laboriously hauled up river to the camp site. With the non arrival of the ‘Young Australian’ it was decided that the ‘Omeo’ should navigate the uncharted river to take desperately needed supplies to the site. This was accomplished despite the ship being grounded several times and floated off at high tides. The ‘Young Australian’ arrived a few days later and towed the ‘Omeo’ further upstream to the depot camp. One party was cut off by floods and had to be rescued. It was now impossible to move anything to the line. Camp life was mostly taken up with building a boarding jetty and moving everything to higher ground out of reach of the flooding river which could see rises and falls of up to 30 feet. As more ships arrived ‘Young Australian’ was kept busy steaming up and down the river. One ship arrived carrying iron poles to replace wooden ones which had been quickly eaten by termites. The whole line was eventually replaced with iron (Oppenheimer) poles. When the line parties were eventually reached many of the men were weak from lack of food and illness. With the arrival of the dry season in early May 1872 work resumed on the line at a great pace. When the gap in the line between the north and south points reached about 250 miles a ‘pony express’ was set up and men riding horses in relays and carrying messages, completed the distance in 5 or 6 days. In this way a message could be sent from London to Adelaide in 9 or 10 days. All was well until 25 June 1872 when the submarine cable between Java and Darwin failed. This was a blessing for the South Australian Government easing the pressure of contract penalties until the cable was restored.
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