Modern communication technology means that today we can connect with just about anyone in the world in seconds.
Only 150 years ago it took months to communicate with other countries through letters transported by ship.
All that changed in August 1872 when Sir Charles Todd completed the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line from Darwin to Adelaide.
The 3,200km long single wire meant communication between Britain and Australia was reduced from months to hours.
Its construction was one of the great engineering feats of 19th-century Australia and was a significant milestone in the development of this country. Todd did this at the same time as he was the Postmaster General of South Australia, the “Government Electrician”, the Government Astronomer and a pioneer of meteorology in Australasia.
This year celebrations are being held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Line.
URPS has a special link to Todd – his great, great, great, granddaughter is our Anna Pannell. This is why we are so pleased to sponsor the Overland Telegraph 150-Symposium which we invite you to discover more about at www.ot150.net/.
As we manage complex projects and stakeholder interests in 2022, we can only imagine how Charles Todd led this project without the communication technologies we rely on.
