THE TELEGRAPH

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXV, Issue 12298, 12 April 1937, Page 3

THE TELEGRAPH

A MESSAGE OF JH62 CONDITIONS THEN AND NOW A copy of one of the earliest telegrams despatched in New Zealand is in the possession of a Wellington resident. It was sent on July 25th, 186 2, from Lyttelton to Christchurch by the Captain of a coastal schooner to his wife in Christchurch. The telegram itself contains nothing of historic interest, hut the conditions under which it was handled provide a vivid reminder of how New Zealand’s telegraphic system has developed in 75 years. 'mis eany telegram was sent within six weeks of me line being openeu ueiween L.ycieiion and Cniibicnurcn. At that time the only other telegraph circuts were between ir’ort Chalmers and Luaeam (controlled by the iJrovincial Government of Otago) and from Auckland to Drury (unuer the control of the military authorities). The cost of this telegram was 2s 6u, for which a maximum of 25 words was permitted, and there was free delivery within the town of Christchurch. It came to the recipient on a formidable blue form, foolscap size, bearing a large representation of the Royal Coat-of-Arms in red ink. The message was written in ink in the clear handwriting common to those pre-typewriter days. Times of transmission in 1862 were limited to half an hour from 8 a.m. and from 10 till 4 p.m., and it was a regular requirement that [the sender must write the telegram in ink on a printed form duly supplied. Tlie development of the telegraph proceeded at a fairly fast pace soon after the sending of this early message, for in 1865 the Bluff-Nelson trunk line was brought into operation with thirteen stations, and in 1866 a cable was laid across Cook Strait. There was at this date a big gap in communication, and it was impossible to telegraph to Auckland, the line from the northern city only extending south into the Waikato. Telegraphic communication between the two chief cities of the North Island was established in 1871. To-day the telegraph has a healthy rival in the handy telephone giving opportunities for closer contact with points, even far overseas. Having the telegraph is still so valuable a medium of communication that the Post Office handles nearly five million messages annually, excluding its cable business, and the system is now so well organized and equipped that it dealt with a rush of Christmas and New Year greetings involving the delivery of. 341,000 telegrams within a .few days. . The old hand-key methods of telegraphy commenced to disappear In New Zealand in December, 1921, when the Murray-Multiplex printing system was introduced at the four chief centres. It has been considerably extended since and a further development to facilitate quick and accurate handling of business on many other circuits was the introduction of the Creed printing telegraph system of which forty-eight are in operation. The result is a net-work of printing- telegraph systems linking together all the busiest offices in the Dominion. The operators instead of tapping off the messages by the Morse code, now use typewriters, perforating narrow tapes which pass through a transmitter and automatically reproduce clear printed characters at the ■ distant point, • Experience has shown that the modern method of transmission enables a skilled operator to deal with exactly twice the number of telegrams by the printingtelegraph system as he could have handled under the old Morse key system, and this, without increased effort although with a greater degree of concentration. The appearance of a telegraph operating room to-day bears scarcely any resemblance to that of twenty years ago. In the old days there were rows of long tables of Morse instruments, and a large number of telegraphists worked side by side in operating this apparatus in the old familiar hand-telegraphy way. To-day, the equipment in the instrument room is of a more intricate nature, and is an indication of what has been done towards the mechanisation of the telegraph. The instrument tables now contain motor-driven equipment elaborate balancing apparatus and twinkling lights to give a visual indication to the Supervising officer that the apparatus is functioning satisfactorily.