“Hello Sydney”: One hundred years of long distance telephone calls from Brisbane to Sydney

Talking to colleagues or family and friends in other state capitals was not always as simple as picking up the telephone and dialling a number. Progress in telephony was made on 11 October 1923, when the trunk telephone lines were completed between the capital cities of Australia's east coast. Between Brisbane and Sydney, copper wire stretched 651 miles in length and two telephone repeaters were installed – one at Singleton, 143 miles from Sydney, and the other at Glen Innes, 237 miles from Brisbane. The repeaters allowed the voice to be magnified so that it was clear.

The Minister for Communications said “the facility for communicating between Brisbane and Sydney will be greatly appreciated by the citizens of Brisbane … and a number of calls have been booked by persons who are very anxious to get on to it as soon as it is open for business.” Trunk calls were primarily of benefit to the business community, as their cost was still prohibitive for most Queenslanders.

The first telephone exchange in Queensland was the Brisbane exchange, established in 1880. By 1883 it provided continuous service to the firms that were keen to become subscribers at a cost of 10 pounds each for the Edison transmitter and Bell receiver. The first subscriber was the Castlemaine Brewery, followed by the Brisbane Courier Office and James Campbell and Sons. By 1885 it was reported that there were 300 subscribers according to the Queensland Historical Atlas.

The first inter-capital city telephone lines were established between Sydney and Melbourne in 1907. Melbourne and Adelaide were linked by 1914, but Sydney and Brisbane had to wait until 1923, and Perth and Adelaide were not linked until 1930.

Plans to link Brisbane and Sydney were initiated in 1921 when the electrical engineer of the Commonwealth Postal Department proposed that the link could be achieved for 35,000 pounds, using the American model of running numbers of telephone lines of long distances and using repeaters at staggered intervals.

Trunk calls were expensive, so it was important to make use of the less expensive rates after 7pm. Calls were of a three minute duration with a daytime rate of 5 shillings and 8 pd per three minutes, and a nighttime rate of 2 shillings and ten pd per three minutes. Initially there was a discount for the second three minutes, but that was changed to a flat rate per every three minutes by 1929.

Telephonists – the key to the trunk call puzzle

The success of trunk calls lay in the manual connections made by telephonists in Brisbane, Sydney and throughout the state. Trunk channels linked different manual trunk exchanges, so it was necessary for a succession of trunk operators to connect the appropriate channels together, one after the other, until the connection was made. It was therefore important that those who wished to make such a call booked in advance.

Female telephonists had been employed since 1899 in Queensland and now were much needed for the central and trunk call exchanges.

Examinations were held across Queensland for the appointment of telephonists. Spelling, handwriting, arithmetic and diction were examined. Telephonists could be assigned across the state.

Overseas calls from Australia became possible with the introduction of a radiotelephone service to England in 1930. The Trunk Exchange in London, located in Carter Lane in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, was known as the switchboard of the world. Telephonists on international exchanges were highly trained and needed to speak at least three languages as they connected Egypt to London, Paris to Glasgow, New York to Manchester and further afield.

One hundred years ago, being able to say “Hello Sydney” was an important step forward for telephony in Queensland and especially for Queensland businesses, many of which were branches of Sydney or Melbourne companies. Finally, they could do business directly with head office. However, trunk call telephone exchanges for interstate and overseas communication were also an important source of employment for young women in Queensland. The role of telephonist was an occupation that came with training, government positions and opened up many more opportunities for career advancement.

Further reading

• The Queensland Historical Atlas: Histories, Cultures, Landscapes
• Brisbane telephone system
• Central auto. 1929-1972
• History of the telephone service in Queensland / presented by F.T. O’Brien … before members of the Post Office Historical Society, Queensland, 14th October 1954
• The palace of winged words : the development of telephone exchanges in Australia
• Taming the tyrant : the first one hundred years of Australia’s international communication services / Edgar Harcourt
• Calling the world : the first 100 years of Alcatel Australia, 1895-1995 / by James Murray
• Gentleman of the cable service : a pictorial history of Australia’s overseas cable telecommunications service 1870-1934
• Heather Joy Cathcart Photographs 1940-2016
• Resistance on the line : a history of Australian telephonists and their trade unions, 1880-1988 / Jeffrey Rickertt
• Queensland telephone directories – microfiche
• Queensland telephone directories