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1872
- The Miscellaneous Leases Act permits the lease of Aboriginal Reserves for up to 14 years.
- New General Post Office in King William Street, Adelaide, opens.
- Boarding-out Society formed by Caroline Clark and Catherine Helen Spence to assist the Destitute Board to foster children with families, rather than place them in institutions; by 1888 almost 700 of the 800 'state' children were boarded out, and this system generally adopted in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
- PG Warburton expedition from South Australia to Western Australia; in 1874 become the first to cross the continent from the centre through the Great Sandy Desert to the west.
- The Overland Telegraph Line was finally completed in August
For more information see The Foundation of South Australia: 1852-1883, Key events and issues and
The Foundation of South Australia 1852-1883, 1872 The Overland Telegraph Line.
Plan of Overland Telegraph Line |
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| Title : | Plan of Overland Telegraph Line |
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| Creator : | Ringwood, Alexander | ||
| Source : | Plan of Overland Telegraph from Port Darwin to Port Augusta [cartographic material] sheet no. 1 | ||
| Place Of Creation : | Adelaide | ||
| Publisher : | Surveyor General's Office | ||
| Date of creation : | 1877 | ||
| Additional Creator : | Crawford, Frazer S. (Frazer Smith) | ||
| Format : | Map | ||
| Catalogue record | |||
| The State Library of South Australia is keen to find out more about SA Memory items. We encourage you to contact the Library if you have additional information about any of these items. | |||
| Copyright : | Reproduction rights are owned by State Library of South Australia. This image may be printed or saved for research or study. Use for any other purpose requires permission from the State Library of South Australia. To request approval, complete the Permission to publish form. |
| Description : |
Map shows boundaries of counties and hundreds, telegraph line and notes and routes made by the telegraph exploration and construction parties, etc in Australia's Top End. These parties were variously led by John Ross, in central and northern Australia, GG McLachlan in northern Australia, and William McMinn in central Australia. The construction of the Overland Telegraph Line was an enormous engineering feat, stringing a strand of copper wire across the centre of the Australian continent, to link it to the underwater telegraph cable at Port Darwin that would enable almost instant communication with the rest of the world. When South Australia won the contract, Charles Todd as Superintendent of Telegraphs was responsible for overseeing the success of this endeavour. The route across the continent had only been pioneered in 1862 by John McDouall Stuart, and the settlement of Port Darwin established in 1866: there remained much exploration to select the best route for the Telegraph Line, particularly in central Australia and at the northern end where Stuart had reached the coast further to the east, at Point Stuart. Work on the line began in September 1870 and was divided into three sections: southern, central and northern. These exploration and construction parties added greatly to the knowledge of the land. The final link was made on 22 August 1872. The Overland Telegraph Line was for many years a focal point in Australian exploration with explorers leaving from or reaching the safety of the Line. In February 1942, during World War II the underwater cable was cut following the Japanese air raid on Darwin, in anticipation of an invasion. The function of the Overland Telegraph Line continued until it was finally replaced by the technology of microwave links in the 1970s. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Todd, Charles Sir, 1826-1910 Stuart, John McDouall, 1815-1866 Ross, John, 1817-1903 McMinn, William, 1844-1884 McLachlan, George G. |
| Period : | 1852-1883 |
| Place : | Northern Territory |
| Further reading : | The centenary of the Adelaide-Darwin overland telegraph line : papers presented to a symposium sponsored by the Institution of Engineers, Australia and the Australian Post Office Sydney: Australian Post Office, 1972 Pownall, Eve The singing wire: the story of the Overland Telegraph Sydney: Collins, 1973 Taylor, Peter, An end to silence: the building of the Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Darwin Sydney: Methuen Australia, 1980 Giles, Alfred, Exploring in the 'seventies and the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line Adelaide : Friends of the State Library of South Australia, 1995 Cameron, A. R. The story of the Overland Telegraph Line: [a lecture] delivered 11.10.32 Adelaide: S.A. Postal Institute Lecture Society, [1932] |
| Internet links : | |
| Exhibitions and events : | State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge August 2004- |
View a "zoomable" version:  | | |
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