ILUKA TELEPHONE SYSTEM Introduction The telephone arrived at Iluka in 1911. This was 25 years after the first official suggestion of a telephone line to Iluka. At first, the sole telephone instrument was installed at private premises and operated as a public telephone by an operator appointed and paid by the Postmaster General. Initial Requests Back in 1886, John Purves MLA wrote to the Postmaster General requesting the installation of an alphabetic telegraph or telephone for operation by the Postmaster at Iluka. For the next quarter of a century, requests concentrated on the need for a telegraph terminal without success. First Service Eventually, in 1911, a newspaper reported that a bond for a telephone service had been executed and that tenders would be invited for the necessary construction work (CRE 26.1.1911). A later report in the same year said that telephone poles had been erected all the way along a route leading to the Post Office (CRE 4.7.1911). Only another 135m of wire were needed for the line to reach the Post Office (CRE 11.7.1911). The Iluka telephone line was connected to the existing line at Chatsworth (CRE 9.7.1911). The people at The Point had requested an extension of the line for their use. The first telephone in Iluka was installed near the Iceworks at The Point. The first telephone was a public telephone. It was operated by Clarrie Payne at his own premises and he was remunerated by the Postmaster General. Later in 1911, John Rush of the North Head Hotel applied for a private connection (CRE 4.11.1911). Initially, advertisements for the North Head Page 1
Hotel gave the telephone contact simply as "phone Iluka" (CRE 27.1.1914). Later, the telephone contact quoted in advertisements for the hotel was "phone 3" (CRE 18.4.1914). Still in 1911, Septimus Dowling wrote to the Postmaster General requesting that a public telephone be installed at the Post Office at the The Bay (CRE 4.11.1911). Dowling was a solicitor from Maclean representing residents and visitors of Iluka. The Post Office at The Bay was 1.2km from the telephone office at The Point. The Postmaster General's Department was concerned that a second public telephone could disadvantage those who had entered into a bond guaranteeing the PMG against monetary loss resulting from the installation of the original public telephone at The Point. John Rush would be allowed to charge members of the public for the use of his private telephone. Rush's hotel was at The Bay not far from the Post Office. Early Technology Early telephone communications in New South Wales were multiplexed onto existing telegraph lines. In this arrangement, a capacitor was used as a filter to isolate telephone instruments from the low frequency Morse code signals of the telegraph. Conversely, an inductor was used to filter the high frequency voice signals of the telephone so as to allow the continued operation of telegraph instruments. The virtual telephone circuit was called a "condenser circuit" because a condenser is another name for a capacitor. This use of condenser circuits allowed for a more rapid spread of telephone communications than would otherwise have been possible. Firstly, existing telegraph lines were available for immediate use. Secondly, the telegraph system used only a single wire. An earth return was used in place of a second wire. The single wire sysem was cheaper to construct than a two wire system. Not only did a single wire system use half the wire of a two wire system but also there was no need for cross arms on the the poles. Page 2
Progress The year 1911 was a big year for telephone communications in the Iluka area. In that year, a trunk line was under construction between South Grafton and Maclean (CRE 4.11.1911). The condenser circuit from Harwood and Chatsworth Islands and Iluka would then be connected to the trunk line at Maclean. Previously, the condenser circuit included Maclean, Brushgrove, Ulmarra, and South Grafton. The Iluka telephone office at The Point was still "small and without exchange" in 1913 (CRE 11.9.1913). This situation was remedied in 1916 when an exchange was installed (DEX 2.11.1938). At that time, there were two subscribers. There were complaints in 1914 that there was no telephone service on Saturdays (CRE 24.1.1914). In 1919, a public telephone was installed at the Post Office (NS 31.3.1919). John Hickey Snr, the Postmaster, was appointed Telephone Operator at this office. The telephone office at The Point was called North Iluka to avoid confusion with the Iluka Post Office which was 1.2km away at The Bay (CRE 25.3.1919). Problems and Disputes The existence of two public telephones in Iluka fuelled the continuing rivalry between the residents of The Point and The Bay. The operators of both telephones were now paid on the basis of the business transacted at their respective telephone offices. People at The Point complained that the salary of their operator, Mr Payne, had been halved. The official reply was that the salary would be basically the same once the transition to the new payment system was completed. Mr Payne was not impressed and resigned his position as telephone operator. Page 3
He stated that he could not exist on the new salary. He obtained a position at the Iceworks. The situation at The Point was remedied by plain common sense. The telephone was shifted by the PMG to the Iceworks. Payne agreed to operate the telephone in addition to his other duties at the Iceworks. In the meantime, Payne had continued his telephone duties at his own premises. Another hiccup at The Point occurred in 1921. Telephone Operator Payne was hospitalised and he resigned again. A Mr Sheather stepped into the breach temporarily. William Bain, Secretary of the North Iluka Progress Association, recommended Thomas Collie for the position of telephone operator. Collie's premises were close to the Iceworks and no extra pole would be required. Bain's letter recommending Collie and Clarrie Payne's letter of resignation are in the same handwriting. The telephone was duly shifted and Collie was appointed later in 1921. This arrangement was short lived. The North Iluka Telephone Office had to be moved again in 1922 as the premises rented by Collie were to be demolished. It is suspected that the office moved to the store of William Bain and Lionel Payne at premises purchased by Payne in 1920. Modern Era Meanwhile, back at The Bay, the telephone number for the North Head Hotel had changed from 3 to 2 (NS 5.11.1924). The North Iluka Telephone Office finally closed in 1931. The operator had resigned as his employment required him to leave North Iluka. At this stage, the public telephone cabinet was on the verandah of a store and was linked in from the Iluka Trunk Telephone Line. The storekeeper was not prepared Page 4
to continue the telephone office but would apply for a private connection to the Iluka Telephone Exchange. The public telephone and cabinet were removed. It is claimed by some that the first private telephone was at the store of Payne and Bain. It is possible that this is where the North Iluka Telephone Office finished its life. These possibilities require further investigation. The automatic telephone exchange at Iluka was established in 1953 (NS 4.8.1953). References CRE - Clarence and Richmond Examiner DEX - Daily Examiner NS - Northern Star Page 5