First local telephone exchange opened in 1909 at Bowral

BY 1900 the district's three main towns of Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale had substantial post office buildings and a regular mail service carried by the railway.

In 1905 telephonic communication with Sydney was established and, in 1909, the first telephone exchange opened.

Applied for by Bowral Municipal Council, an exchange opened on 21 August 1909 and, by year's end, 56 subscribers were connected.

The original magneto exchange linked subscribers by overhead street wires to a central switchboard. Callers were required to wind the handle of their handset and an operator answered, who then connected the caller to the requested number.

The manual switchboard was located in Bowral Post Office and the duty of attending the switch would have been allotted to the Postmaster or one of his staff, most probably the telegraphic messenger.

The first mention of a telephonist's position at Bowral can be found in Postmaster General's Department (PMG) staff records for 1913, where Alexander Read is listed as having been appointed to the position. At this time he was 18 years of age and received a salary of 52 pounds per annum.

A copy of the first list of subscribers, issued in 1915, shows Bowral's top number was 107, that being the number of Robert Loseby of Somerby. The hundredth subscriber was James Leahy of Brewongie in Merrigang St. The number eight would raise Joshua Stokes, produce merchant. Number one was Libbeus Horden of Hopewood.

The distinction of being the first female telephonist at Bowral goes to Edith Canvin, first mentioned in the PMG staff list for 1916.

THE number of connections gradually increased and in 1942 there were 602 phone subscribers.

The role of telephonist had extended beyond just connecting local calls - they had to book long-distance trunk calls, help with service difficulties, provide reminder and wake-up calls, handle emergency enquiries and cope with a variety of questions and queries that required a fair knowledge of the local district.

Telephonists were a fundamental aspect of daily and business life and thereby came to know what went on around the town.

In August 1955 a new central battery exchange was established in a pre-fabricated building at the rear of Bowral Post Office that served 906 district customers who lifted their handpiece and an operator answered. With increased subscriber numbers, more telephonists were required - up to 50 women and girls worked shifts and visiting PMG technicians kept the exchange and lines in working order.

Of wider importance in the field of telecommunications during the 1950s was the laying of the Sydney-Melbourne coaxial cable. It was announced in April 1959 that it would pass through Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale and bullet-proof concrete repeater stations were to be built at six-mile intervals.

IN 1960 a major change in the national telephone system was introduced; known as Extended Local Service Areas (ELSA) it enabled telephone subscribers to call over distances of up to 35 miles at the local call rate.The local call area was increased from 5 to approximately 25 miles, thus allowing direct-dial local calls to be made between Bowral, Moss Vale, Mittagong and a number of smaller automatic exchanges in the area.

Subscribers were provided with new dial telephones and only required telephonists for long dis

tance calls and directory assis tance.Other developments locally included the opening of an unattended automatic exchange at Exeter in April 1960; Bowral's brick exchange building went into service in 1961 for coaxial cable pur poses; a direct phone link between Moss Vale and Berrima exchanges was installed on 12 June 1963; and Mittagong's new Post Office opened on 4 August 1964.

The broadband radio repeater station on The Gib, between Bowral and Mittagong, originally erected in the early 1960s to amplify telephone calls, was used to amplify TV signals from the late 1960s.

On Sunday 29 August 1971, after 12 months of preparation, conversion to automatic telephones was completed in the district with Bowral exchange becoming the hub of the new system. Mittagong was connected the following month and Bundanoon was the only large village that had to wait longer for connection. The new Bowral exchange was equipped initially with 1600 lines that could be extended to meet future development. This made it possible to provide a large district-wide switching network involving 17 automatic exchanges, all able to dial one another and the manual subscribers at Bundanoon, Barrallier and Wollondilly.A most important feature of the change was the provision of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) whereby subscribers could dial their own long-distance trunk calls.

To be continued

This article compiled by PHILIP MORTON is sourced from the archives of Berrima District Historical & Family History Society, Bowral Rd, Mittagong. Phone 4872 2169. Email bdhsarchives@gmail.com. Web: berrimadistricthistoricalsociety.org.au