Publishing an advertisement of a sale in the form of an urgent telegram was an offence under the Police Act alleged against Arthur Coffey, a business man, at the Young Police Court. He was fined £2, and the newspaper which printed the advertisement was similarly penalised on a charge of having aided and abetted. It was stated that both defendants had acted in ignorance of the law.
PERTH, Sunday. Death from thirst and lack of food was narrowly averted by Thomas Hamilton, 51, who, while walking from a pastoral station to Derby, was lost for three days in grass which grows to a height of 15ft.
He came out at the telegraph line about 66 miles from Broome, dropped his swag and apparently walked one mile and a half along the line. He then shot down an insulator of the telegraph wire with his rifle and severed the line with a second bullet.
A telegraph linesman, who went out to locate the breakdown, found Hamilton lying exhausted and naked in a hole he had dug in the ground with his fingers to find water. Hamilton said that he had kept the third bullet for himself in case no help came. The linesman took him to Broome Hospital where he is recovering".
The Argus 10 April 1939.
"that if you happen to notice a person leaning against a telegraph pole, hesitate ere you draw uncharitable conclusions. Some ingenious slacker has discovered that the best way of hearing the guns in Flanders is to put your ear to the posts which support the telegraph wires".
"Some few enlightened individuals are innocent enough to believe that the days are passed when ordinary human beings should be mistaken for sorcerers and worried to death for witchcraft. It is a great mistake. We know that in many parts of England the belief in witchcraft flourishes among the ignorant people.
We now hear of an Englishman in Spain being nearly butchered for his supposed complicity with the Prince of Darkness. The event took place in a thriving commercial town, numbering 20,000 inhabitants — Lorce. The people in this neighbourhood firmly believe in the existence of certain wizards - mysterious beings - with pale faces and long white beards who hid during the day, hunt at night for children whom they devour. The fate of these children they are said to keep sacredly for two purposes — first, as a sovereign cure for smallpox; and second to grease the wires of the electric telegraph - which is in itself a Satanic invention and would not work at all were it not for the lubricating oil obtained from the bodies of innocent little children".
South Australian Chronicle 1 January 1870 p. 6.
10. Underground telegraph wires compulsory.
Removal of Telegraph Wires.
An English paper observes that a Committee of the State Senate has unanimously reported in favour of a Bill making overhead telegraph wires illegal and providing for the removal of all posts and overhead wires from the streets of New York within the next two years and six months. The Committee declare that the evidence tendered by the most competent authorities in the United States places beyond all controversy the entire feasibility of using subterranean wires for all electrical purposes and reduces the whole question to one of expense. They, therefore, recommend that if, after the expiry of two years and six months, any telegraph poles of overhead wires should still remain in the streets of New York, any individual shall be allowed to cut them down for his own profit or amusement and that, so far from being regarded as an offender against the law, he shall, on the contrary, be held to have done a valuable public service by the removal of a dangerous and intolerable nuisance".
(South Australian Register 18 July 1882).
11. What to do when the Office is closed.
The Port Augusta Dispatch of 24 October 1902 relates the following:
"A youthful journalist went into a provincial post office recently to send a telegram and purchase a stamp for a letter.
" Can't sell stamps now" said the clerk, "it's after hours."
" But this letter is very important," urged the journalist.
" This office is open only for telegraph business now" said the clerk decidedly.
The youth took a telegram form, wrote a telegram — fourteen words — and handed the clerk 7d. The clerk gave him a sixpenny and a penny stamp to place on it. Then the journalist calmly struck out the last two words on the form, stuck the sixpenny stamp in the corner of the telegram transmission form, affixed the penny stamp to his letter and walked out of the office feeling that he had got the better of someone that time".
12. The Wellington (New Zealand) Post and Telegraph Office was destroyed by fire in April 28th 1887. The mails and a few telephones were saved but the telegraphic instruments were destroyed. The damage is estimated at £40,000 and the premises were not insured.
13. The Wombat
Hamilton Spectator 11 September 1863:
"An incident occurred on Tuesday in Ballarat which was promotive of a considerable amount of mirth in mining and stockbroking circles: A few days ago, says the Star, a sharebroking firm in this town took up the Daylesford Express and, observing an advertisement therein, to the following effect: "A wombat for sale, cheap" telegraphed that their firm would give £65 for it. On Tuesday morning a person arrived per coach from Daylesford and, having inquired for the office of Messrs ____ was directed to the place. On entering the office, the man laid a basket on the counter and exclaimed "I have brought you the wombat. Here it is - a fine large one". The sharebrokers were astounded. They had imagined that the advertisement had reference to a share for sale in the Wombat Gold Mining Company and had telegraphed for its purchase accordingly. An explanation ensued but the person who brought the live wombat insisted on the completion of the purchase and could not be chargrined at the ludicrous mistake which had been made".
14. Summary Justice.
The Age 30 November 1857:
An artillery officer at Peshawar gives an instance of the use of the telegraph by which communication had been kept up with the Punjab. A letter was intercepted at Pindoe, which said ' Three natives of high rank (giving names) sit in council tomorrow to decide what to do against the English. Telegraph said 'Let a spy attend and report'. This was done and in a few minutes after, the outlines of the plot were before Lawrence. Telegraph again 'Hang them all three'. In 15 minutes more they were hung. Short work!"
15. The Telekiss - the merging of the telegraph and the telephone - a great experiment.
The Ovens and Murray Advertiser 12 April 1884.
16. Electricity and the future.
An amazing article published 140 years ago(!!!!) which sets out the use of water power to generate electricity to light our cities, private residences, etc. in a way better than coal, firewood or gas could be.
There are no new ideas - just old ones brought up to date.
17. Mine Safety
The Ballarat Star of 5 June 1874 reported a very novel approach to safety in the mines:
"Seeing that a reward of £100 is offered by the Government for the best scheme of signalising in mines, Mr W. Walker, of Armstrong Street North, makes a proposition to use the telegraph in the mines. He proposes to adopt a code of signals very popular in the large hotels in New York, Philadelphia and other great centres in America and he is confident that the same would be found to work well in the deep mines in Victoria. His scheme is simple and, by means of a number of wires, one for each drive, and signals to be known to those employed in the mines, Mr Walker suggests to make proper provision for preventing the sad loss of life which is daily being chronicled".
18. THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH AND THE NORWEGIAN HERRING FISHERY.
"At Messrs. Glasse and Elliot's yard, at East Greenwich, a fine submarine cable is being made for the Norwegian government. This is, as far as we are aware, probably the first electric telegraph which has ever been used for fishing purposes.
During the fishing season, the shoals of herrings enter the fiords of Norway at most unexpected intervals and at places where often not more than one or two fishing boats are to be found. Before the boats from the surrounding bays and fiords can be summoned to the spoil, the herrings have generally spawned and are away to sea again.
To prevent those repeated disappointments and losses to the fishermen, the Norwegian government is about to lay a submarine cable along some 50 miles off the coast most frequented by the shoals, with land stations at short distances communicating with the fishing villages. The instant the shoal is seen in the offing therefore (and it can always be known at a distance by the whales which surround it), a message will be sent along the coast telling each village the fiord or bay which it has entered".
(Maitland Mercury 22 August 1857 referencing the Times).
19. Naughty boy.
In the Prahran Court on 12 February 1866, Patrick Chapman, a little boy who could scarcely look over the dock, was charged with breaking the telegraph wire by throwing stones thereat and sentenced to twenty-four hours solitary confinement in the watchhouse. Thomas Chapman, father of the Patrick, was fined 1s or twenty-four hours imprisonment for being drunk and disorderly.
20. The Angel at Oxford.
A remarkable story few know - about a hotel, Oxford University and coffee. Read it (only brief) with awe and enjoyment. Ignore the previous story about Eden - nothing to do with Telegraphs.
21. One advantage of knowing Morse Code.
"Guadalajara, Mexico., July 12 1887.
Yesterday the body of Juan Aminte, a telegraph operator, lay in its coffin in church ready for burial. A companion near it heard regular taps inside, which clearly clicked out "I am alive."
Surprised, he gave the alarm and the telegrapher, weak but still alive, was rescued and restored".
22. Telegraphic message blunders.
Telegraphic blunders are sometimes as funny as they are serious. Thus:
23. First telegraph station in the Holy Land.
"Have you observed, writes a correspondent, that the first telegraph station in the Holy Land has been established at Nazareth, in Bethany? Is it not strange that the light of civilization should be cradled in the little town in Bethany, whence flowed "that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (Evening News 14 June 1883).
24. The travelling pig - a lovely (non-telegraph) story.
"A singular instance of a love of travelling and a fondness for the companionship of animals of a different species was exhibited by a pig which arrived in town last week in company with a herd of cattle. The cattle came from the neighborhood of Burrangong and, during the whole of the journey to Wagga Wagga, the pig continued as their constant companion. Nothing could drive or keep him away from his strangely chosen friends!
The drovers found him a nuisance and to get rid of him gave him away to settlers more than once upon the road, but all to no purpose. The moment the cattle moved off, the pig became uneasy and, with a grunt and a rush, would break through or blunder over, his place of confinement and make straight for the herd at the top of his speed and, when once he got amongst them, was not to be cut out again without considerable difficulty.
After one or two escapes of this kind, he was treated as a privileged intruder in the herd and, on passing the town, was suffered without molestation to follow his travelling inclinations to the top of his bent".
(Albury Banner 1 June 1867).
25. Cobar is a long way from New South Wales or even Australia.
The opening of the Telegraph Station in Cobar, NSW on 29 April 1891 was a reason for celebrations world wide - even in unexpected places. See the short story in the Cobar entry.
26. Ladders for telegraph poles.
In a number of newspapers there was regularly a column allocated to a question and answer session. Usually the newspaper would answer the questions but sometimes readers would submit their suggestions. In the Australian Town and Country Journal of 8 October 1881, such a column was printed with about 50+ questions and their answers.
One question was: "Where can I procure a ladder to reach the top of a telegraph pole 24 feet highAbout 7.3 metres.? The ladder must close up and be suitable for carrying on horse back and as light as possible. State price and weight?".
The Journal answered in the usual short manner: "A telegraph line repairer who knows anything of his duties would laugh at the idea of a ladder such as that referred to".
27. NEW REMEDY FOR BALD HEADS.
"About a year ago the accidental discovery of the wonderful properties possessed by the oxide of copper from the mines near Orange in restoring the growth of the human hair created quite a sensation amongst the bald of this colony and induced a very large demand for the article to spring up. We now hear of an another remedy which appears likely to throw it altogether into the shade and to establish for itself a reputation for promoting the growth of hirsute crops, unequalled by any preparation which the art of the chemist has yet produced.
As an instance of the virtues of the application we allude to, we may state that a year or two since, one of our townsmen became painfully conscious that his hair was daily becoming thinner and thinner, and at last the crown of his head became veritably bald. Being of rather a scientific turn of mind, and having heard of the effect of the Orange oxide, he thought that the application of other preparations in which copper might be present might very possibly prove equally successful.
About six months since, he therefore determined upon experimentalising upon his bald pate with the "blue stone water" from the local batteries of the Telegraph Office. The station master offered no objections and the cranium of our bald friend was therefore, at due intervals, well bathed in the minerally impregnated liquid from the batteries. The results exceeded his most sanguine hopes. Not only was the thinning process arrested but a new and stronger crop began to spring up and a healthy growth also appeared upon and spread over the bald place which is now almost as thickly covered as any part of the head.
We would recommend the bald to repeat the experiment". (Wagga Wagga Express 18 August 1866).
28. Once upon a time there was an Irishman ...
"The Irishman who desired to send a letter by telegraph has been outdone (says Truth) by a young man, the son of a baronet, who called the other day at a telegraph office in London and asked that he might see the original of a telegram,which had arrived from Egypt, in order that he might satisfy himself as to whether it had been despatched by his father. The young man is in the service of the Foreign Office. It is to be hoped that he does not represent the standard of intelligence in that Department" (The Gundagai Times 24 October 1882).
29. A Victorian did not invent the Electric Telegraph.
The Albany Mail of 18 November 1884 reported the shocking but inevitable news item on 18 November 1884 that "The Royal Society, after a full discussion, resolved that they cannot support the claim of Dr. Davy of Victoria, to be regarded as inventor of the electric telegraph". No indication is given as to how long the "full discussion" lasted.
30. Scammers through the years.
With the advent of modern communication and the internet, we are informed daily about scammers taking money from gullible people. Alas the practice is not new - it even happened on the goldfelds of Kalgoorlie nine years after the telegraph lines had been constructed. The story is elsewhere.
31: Australia's international generosity goes back a long way.
About two years after the international cables to Europe were operational : French Flood Relief Fund.
"A grand monster musical festival in aid of the general fund for the relief of the sufferers by the recent calamitous floods on the Garonne, was given in the Exhibition Building, on Saturday last, at which a large number of the musical profession in Sydney, including the opera company, through the liberality of Mr. W. S. Lyster, spontaneously tendered their gratuitous services. Both the afternoon and evening concerts were well attended, and upwards of 10,000 francs (£400) was realized. The telegraph line was, by order of Government, left clear at 11 o'clock on Saturday evening, to send a message through to Paris, telling France of Australia's sympathy evidenced by the contribution to the French Flood Relief Fund of 10,000 francs — a contribution which of course will be more valued for the kindly feeling it testifies than for the actual amount. It is rather curious to think that this telegram of 'peace and goodwill' left Sydney at 11 p.m. on Saturday night, and (after being twelve hours in transit) arrived in Paris on the same day, and at the same hour, that it left Sydney"
(Mining Record 24 July 1875).
"It may be interesting news, says the San Francisco News Letter that 'the Rotterdamsche Handelsvereeniging loses 7,000,000 florins by failure of the Afrikaansche Handelsvereeniging' but to impart such information by telegraph must be very wearing on the wires.
That is the smallest part of the evil however. We know of three compositors and one foreman printer who have committed suicide by drowning since those Dutch banks began to fail, thereby causing a glut in the shrimp market and giving an inky flavour to the crabs. These unfortunate men did not belong to the News Letter Office. Not at all. We are too careful of the lives of our printers for that.
We have a machine (patent applied for) expressly invented for such emergencies. It is like a gigantic inverted peppercastor, with holes in the lid large enough to let type slip through freely. It takes some time to get the name of a Dutch bank along the wires and, as soon as we are warned by the arrival of the first instalment, our machine is promptly hoisted into position over the form. As the name continues to come in, four able-bodied men shovel type into the Dutchometer from a well-mixed heap of all the letters in the alphabet. The machine is then violently agitated by being beaten with a cast-iron club and, after the type has rattled out for an hour or two, we have got that name about as correct as any of the dailies.
We hear that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Printers is going to award the News Letter a medal for this life-saving apparatus"
(Freeman's Journal, 30 August 1879) .
We have heard in England of the telegraph being made use of by eager and somewhat indiscreet admirers for making offers of marriage; also, more reasonably, by admired ones for accepting offers when they had been earnestly adjured to "telegraph reply; answer paid for".
But it was reserved for the Americans to introduce, not offers of marriage but marriage itself, by telegraph: "In August 1874, the New York Times quoted from the Journal of the Telegraph an account of a marriage ceremony performed "over the wire" with the minister at one end and the engaged couple at the other.
At five o'clock, the hour fixed for the celebration, the officiating clergyman in the office at Keokuk (Iowa), of the Western Union Telegraph Company, received a telegram from the bridegroom and bride saying that they were at the Telegraph Office in Bonaparte (same State), and "ready to proceed". The following message was then sent:
"Keokuk (Iowa), 16th April, 1874. — John Sullivan and Frances Godown, Bonaparte Iowa: Please join hands and take the pledge.— William C. Pratt."
The following is a copy of the pledge which had been left with them: " You mutually and solemnly promise before God and the witnesses present that you will each take the one you hold by the hand to be your lawful and wedded companion forsaking all others, you would cleave to each other in sickness and in health and perform all the duties of a faithful companion until you are separated by death. If to this you agree, send me a message to this effect".
Then came the response: "Bonaparte, 16th April, 1874. William G. Pratt, Keokuk. We take the pledge. John Sullivan, Frances Godown.
The concluding despatch was as follows: 'Keokuk, Iowa; 16th April, 1874. — John Sullivan and Frances Godown, Bonaparte, Iowa:
By authority I pronounce you husband and wife, and may God bless you. W. C. Pratt".Congratulations were then sent from all stations along the line to the happy couple who had just been suited "by the lightning process".
The lightning process is doubtless effective but the marriage would probably have been equally legal had it been performed through the post.