SA & NT Morsecodians—Overland Telegraph Celebration
Adelaide and Historic Telegraph Station Alice Springs
By Laurie Wallace, President, SA & NT Morsecodians Fraternity
The
SA
&
NT
Morsecodians
Fraternity
was
formed
in
1988.
And
since
then,
the
Fraternity
has
annually
celebrated
the
historic
Overland
Telegraph
Line
(OTL)
using
temporary
telegraph
stations
in
Adelaide,
Alice
Springs
and
Darwin.
Over
the
years,
visitors
to
the
temporary
telegraph
stations
have
had
the
opportunity
to
send
telegrams
to
friends
or
loved
ones
in
Australia
and
overseas.
This
celebration
of
the
OTL
for
over
30
years
achieved
a
high
point
this
year
with
celebrations
of
the
150
th
anniversary of the completion of the historic OTL in 1872.
From
15
August
to
28
August
the
SA
&
NT
Morsecodians
Fraternity
took
part
in
keynote
functions
and
events
in
both
Adelaide
and
Alice
Springs.
The
Morsecodians
Fraternity
members
involved
were
Laurie
Wallace,
President,
96
years,
Graham
Borlace,
84
years,
Dennis
Hughes,
89
years
and
Barry
Barnes,
85
years.
Working
closely
with
them
were
Public
Relations
Officers
Patricia
Watkins and Dianne Borlace.
On
15
August
2022,
the
Pioneer
Association
of
South
Australia
function
was
convened
by
Robin
Mulholland.
Laurie
Wallace
and
Dennis
Hughes
attended
the
function
providing
members
and
guests
with
a
step
back
into
history
using
demonstrations
of
the
speedy
sending
and
receiving
of
Morse code messages. A lot faster than sending a text message using a mobile phone!
Laurie Wallace (L) and Dennis Hughes
Morse code demonstration
Later,
on
22
August,
the
Institution
of
Engineering
Technology
and
Institute
of
Electrical
and
Electronics
Engineers
Retired
Engineers
Group
(
IET/IEEE
REG
)
had
a
presentation
and
demonstration
to
celebrate
the
150
th
anniversary
of
The
Overland
Telegraph
Line
at
the
State
Library of South Australia.
This
event
was
convened
by
Don
Grigg
from
IET/IEEE
REG,
to
commemorate
the
day
in
1872
when
the
OTL
was
completed
with
a
demonstration
of
Morse
code
by
SA
&
NT
Morsecodians
Fraternity members Dennis Hughes, 89 years and Barry Barnes, 85 years.
Dennis
Hughes
sent
a
Morse
code
message
to
Barry
Barnes
which
was
a
re-enactment
of
the
message
sent
by
Charles
Todd
from
Central
Mount
Stuart
on
22
August
1872
to
the
Chief
Minister,
Parliament House Adelaide.
The
participation
of
the
SA
&
NT
Morsecodians
Fraternity
at
key-note
functions
in
Adelaide
celebrating
the
150
th
anniversary
of
the
OTL
culminated
in
a
nine-day
celebration
at
the
Historic
1872
Telegraph
Station
Alice
Springs.
Record
numbers
of
visitors
from
across
Australia
and
overseas
were
attracted
to
the
Historic
Station
throughout
the
celebrations.
There
were
200–300
daily, and more than 2500 over 9 days.
Laurie Wallace 96 years and Graham Borlace 84 years, Telegraphists with
Patricia
Watkins
and
Dianne
Borlace,
Public
Relations
Officers
and
NT
Parks
&
Wildlife
rangers
Daily
Bus
Tour
groups
of
30–60
along
with
some
200+
Ghan
train
guests
attended
a
5-star
Banquet Dinner under the stars outside the Telegraph Office on two nights.
The
highlight
was
a
visit
by
the
great-great
grandsons,
James
and
Julian
Todd
and
Todd
family
members
as
well
as
80+
friends
for
a
Barbecue
Banquet
Dinner
under
the
Stars
and
a
demonstration of the Morse signalling and presentation of a Souvenir Telegram Message.
Daily,
more
than
100
visitors
listened
and
watched
their
names
being
signalled
over
the
Historic
Morse
Keys
and
received
in
dits
and
dahs,
resonating
from
the
Sounder
and
translated
by
the
receiving
Telegraphist,
who
presented
the
Souvenir
Message
to
the
recipient.
It
is
a
keepsake
of
their
visit
to
the
150th
Anniversary
of
the
OTL
at
the
centre
of
Australia’s
first
speedy
communications
link
from
the
Gateway
Adelaide—Alice
Springs—Pt
Darwin
and
onward
to
London, Europe and America by undersea Telegraph cable.
In
1872,
contact
through
letters
taking
months
by
sailing
ship
or
steamer
was
reduced
to
just
hours
by
the
Electric
Telegraph!
Remember—there
were
no
telephones
and
no
radios—they
had
not been invented!
The
Chief
Ranger
e-mailed
a
copy
of
an
usually
high
number
of
comments
(several
hundred)
which visitors queued up to sign. Some of the comments are shown below.
Visitors comments
Excellent display of Morse code by two treasures!
Very interesting: great, knowledgeable man, well educated
Thoroughly enjoyed it—great to have our history preserved.
What a legend! So fast—better than SMS
What talented and fluent messaging
Great experience; ‘ol’ boys still doing the business.
Great tapping and thank you. Great to celebrate 150 years
Graham
and
Laurie
were
wonderful
to
watch.
Amazing
to
see
this
all
happen
in
front
of
our eyes
Long live the Morsecodians! Well done all.
Great to be here on the week they have a ‘live’ display.
Thank you. Blood is worth bottling!
Great to see the operators using their skills gained many years ago.
The
sponsors
for
this
historic
and
memorable
celebration
of
the
150
th
anniversary
of
the
OTL
were
the
Premier’s
Department
of
South
Australia,
NT
Tourism
and
NT
Parks
and
Wildlife.
The
SA
&
NT
Morsecodians
Fraternity
sincerely
acknowledge
and
thank
the
Premier’s
Department
of
South
Australia
for
the
financial
grant
to
celebrate
this
milestone
in
connecting
Australia
with
the rest of the world.
