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Alice Springs Telegraph Station

The Alice Springs Telegraph Station is a special historical place located about four kilometres north of the Alice Springs town centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was built in 1872 to send messages between Darwin and Adelaide. This station was the very first European settlement in central Australia. It was one of twelve stations along the important Australian Overland Telegraph Line.

History of the Telegraph Station

Alice Springs telegraph station buildings (PH0756-0002)
Alice Springs telegraph station buildings in 1905

For thousands of years, the Arrernte people have lived in the Alice Springs area. They are the traditional owners of this land.

European explorers started looking around central Australia in 1860. A brave explorer named John McDouall Stuart successfully crossed Australia from north to south in 1863. He went through the MacDonnell Ranges. Later, in March 1871, a surveyor named William Mills was looking for a good path for the Overland Telegraph Line. He found a waterhole, which was a very important place for the local Aboriginal people. They called it Turiara.

Mills named this waterhole Alice Springs after Alice Todd. She was the wife of his boss, Charles Todd, who was in charge of the big telegraph project.

Building the Station

Construction of the telegraph station began right next to the waterhole in November 1871. Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn supervised the building work. Many buildings were put up, including a telegraph office, a kitchen, and a home for the station master. Since supplies only arrived once a year from Adelaide, it was very important for the people living there to be able to grow their own food and look after themselves. They built stockyards and a large garden. A well was also dug to make sure they always had water, even during dry times.

The telegraph station worked for 60 years, sending messages across the country.

Station Managers (Postmasters)

Telegraph Station Staff (PH764-0005)
Staff at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.

Many different people managed the Alice Springs Telegraph Station over the years. They were called Postmasters. Here are some of them:

Postmasters From To
Johannes Ferdinand Mueller 1 July 1875 31 August 1879
Ernest Ebenezer Samuel Flint 1 September 1879 17 July 1887
Joseph Skinner 1 September 1887 30 November 1892
Francis James Gillen 1 December 1892 31 March 1899
Thomas Andrew Bradshaw 1 April 1899 1908
John McKay 17 July 1908 1916
Frederick Alfred Price 1916 1924
Ernest Allchurch 1924 1932

Mueller was the first postmaster. A street in Alice Springs, Mueller Street, is named after him.

Bradshaw, another postmaster, started working for the Post and Telegraph Department in 1878. He became the postmaster of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station in 1899. Bradshaw Primary School in Alice Springs is named after him.

The Bungalow: A Home for Children

The telegraph station stopped operating in 1932. After that, the buildings were used as a home and school for Aboriginal children. This place was known as The Bungalow. It had moved from another location called Jay Creek. An area of 273 hectares, including the telegraph station, became an Aboriginal reserve in 1932. Its goal was to provide a place to live and education for Aboriginal children.

The Freemans were the first Superintendent and Matron (like a principal and caretaker) at this new location. The Bungalow closed in 1942 because of World War II. Most of the children were moved to places further south, like Mulgoa in New South Wales and Balaklava in South Australia. The Australian Army then took over the buildings.

World War II and Beyond

During World War II, from 1942 to 1945, parts of the station were used by the Australian Army. After the war, in 1945, the station was given back to the Native Affairs Department. It remained an Aboriginal Reserve until 1963. At that time, many Aboriginal people moved to Amoonguna, an Aboriginal Community southeast of Alice Springs.

The Station Today

Today, the Alice Springs Telegraph Station is part of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve. This area was officially made a reserve in 1962. Many of the old stone buildings have been carefully restored.

The historical reserve was listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1980 and on the Northern Territory Heritage Register in 2004. Now, it is a popular place for tourists to visit. It also has a cafe and is a great spot for mountain biking.

See Also

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