Victorian Telecommunications Museum facts for kids
The Victorian Telecommunications Museum is a cool small museum in Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia. It's located inside the Hawthorn Telephone Exchange building. This museum is packed with old communication gadgets and machines. These items were once used by a government group called the Postmaster-General's Department. This department later split into two well-known Australian services: Telecom Australia (which is now just Telstra) and Australia Post.
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What Can You See at the Museum?
The museum has many interesting items on display. You can see how people communicated long ago! It shows how phones and other devices worked before modern technology.
The Mini Telephone Exchange
One of the most exciting things to see is a working mini telephone exchange. This is like a tiny version of an old phone system. It has four old-fashioned phones that you can use to call each other.
When you dial a number, you can watch the exchange machine. It will click and move as it connects your call. You'll even hear the original dial tones and rings from these old phones! It's a fun way to see how calls were made in the past.
The Amazing Speaking Clock
A very special exhibit is one of the original mechanical speaking clocks. This machine used rotating glass discs to "speak" the time. It's like a robot that tells you the exact time!
This specific clock is one of only four Mark II machines. They were made in England and sent to Australia in the early 1950s. The original parts that read the discs stopped working. But volunteers found a clever way to fix it using new digital parts. Now, this amazing speaking clock works perfectly again!
Visiting the Museum
The Victorian Telecommunications Museum is run by dedicated volunteers. It's open to the public on the fourth Wednesday of each month. You can also arrange a visit by making an appointment.
Other Telstra Museums
Did you know there are other similar museums?
- The Telstra Museum in Bankstown, Sydney, also has a Mark II speaking clock. It's open every Tuesday and Wednesday. This museum is also run by volunteers.
- The Brisbane Telstra Museum is in Albion. It's open every Wednesday and is also run by volunteers.
