THIRTY YEARS AGO,

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1423, 25 April 1912, Page 4

THIRTY YEARS AGO,

STARTING THE TELEPHONES,

New Zealand has had a State-owned public telephone service for 30 years. The .Postmaster-General (Hon. H. G. Ell) stated yesterday at Porirua that telephones first began to be utilised generally in this country in 1881. In that year it was found that the number of telegrams had fallen off, and it was agreed that users of the telegraphs were, owing to the monetary depression, confining themselves strictly to their necessities and were making use of the Post Offieo to a much larger extent than formerly. In order to maintain itself, therefore, the Telegraph Department had to open up now channels of communication and the introduction of the telephone enabled this to be done. On October 1, 1881, the .first telephone exchange was opened at Christchurch with 29 subscribers. Ten days later a eecoiul exchange was opened at Auckland with 2G subscribers. Within two days five additional applications were received, which caused Dr. Lemon, the Superintendent of Telegraphs (who had come all the way by steamer from Wellington to fee the inauguration of tho system) to remark that he wouldn't be surprised to see , a hunched subscribers some day. (The total number of telephones attached to tho exchange now exceeds 5000.) The Auckland Exchange was in operation before anv exchanges had Ijeen established in Great Britain, and possibly anywhere in Europe. A third exchange was onened at Dunedin, with Sβ subscribers on April "C 1882. The Wellington Fjcchange was not opened till March 1, ISS.t, with 31 subscribers.

The subscriptions lvore originally ,£l7 10s. per annum for a first connection, and for every additional connection to the panic subscriber Mα. On January 1, ISB3, the rates were reduced to JM2 per annum tor the first year and £10 for subserment year?, Hie reductions dating back to the commencement of tlio system. A further reduction was made on July 1, 1885, from .£l2 to j>lo for the first yciir, and £S for every succeeding yoar.