Development of the code
The code
Morse code in Australia
Development of the code
A number of individuals were engaged in solving the problem of translating a message written in ordinary language into a form which could be transmitted over the newly invented telegraph wires.
One of the suggestions was made by the Americans Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse. It relied on coding the letters of the alphabet and the digits 0 to 9 in terms of dots and spaces. Others came up with variations on the Morse system. Hence there were several different types being used on various telegraph systems - and that created a major problem.
Friedrich Clemens Gerke - a telegraph inspector on the Hamburg-Cuxhaven line - suggested that it was easy to avoid many operational problems by modifying the code by eliminating spaced dots and appluing dashes of constant length equal to three times the length of a dot.
In 1851, a special meeting was held in Vienna to discuss the diversity of codes and to recommend one system which could be used internationally. Austria and Germany were the important countries leading the push towards uniformity. The meeting adopted a modified European code called the Continental Morse Code.
At the first meeting of the ITU in Paris in 1865, this Continental code was adopted for all telegraphic communication among member countries and it became known as the International code. Morse's original code remained in use only on landlines in the United States and Canada.
The code
A |
B | C | D | E | F |
| •— | —••• | —•—• | —•• | • | ••—• |
| G | H | I | J | K | L |
| ••— | •••• |
•• | •——— | —•— | •—•• |
| M | N | O | P | Q | R |
| —— | —• | ——— | •——• | ——•— | •—• |
| S | T | U | V | W | X |
| ••• | — | ••— | •••— | •—— | —••— |
| Y | Z | 0 (zero) | 1 (one) | 2 | 3 |
| —•—— | ——•• | ————— | •———— | ••——— | •••—— |
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| ••••— | ••••• | —•••• | ——••• | ———•• | ————• |
Morse code in Australia
At the beginning of telegraphic communcation in Australia, the American Code developed by Morse was adopted. This continued to be the choice across all the Colonies for a number of years.
With the opening of the Overland Telegraph line and the completion of the Port Darwin to London link, the Australian colonies had greater contact with England and the European countriues than they had with America. Hence, at the November 1896 Intercolonial Post and Telegraph Conference in Sydney, the recommendation to adopt the International code was accepted. The new code operated from July 1897 on all telegraph and cable lines including the overland telegraph line.
Milestones in phasing out the use of the International code messages are:
Cross-references:
Telegraphic items in the Museum of Victoria. |
| Telegraphic items in the Queensland Telecommunications Museum. |
| Translating a message to morse code and vice versa - a great site! |
Where do you want to go next? |
| Use of Morse Code in Australia. |
Wheatstone telegrams |