THE FIRST TELEPHONE EXPERIMENTS
IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA JANUARY 1878           Page 1
This is the story of the first telephone experiments in Sydney accompanied by photographs and description of the instruments used. These historic instruments still exist today and although having been attacked by  the borer Lictus Anobium and repaired, they are in good condition considering they are around 121 years old.

The following text is edited from the
Telecommunication Society of Australia's  NSW Historical Monograph No. 3
written by A.H. Freeman and edited by Ken Bushell.

The History of the Telephone to 1887

The first significant telephone experiments in Australia were conducted in January 1878 by the Electric Telegraph Departments of all Colonies. They were made possible by the publication of illustrations and descriptions of Bell's latest instruments.

The experiments were widely reported and the following extract from the Sydney Morning Herald  of  14th. January 1878  refers to the first tests carried out on the 12th. January 1878.

"THE TELEPHONE.

Our readers are probably aware that a discovery has been made in the art of telegraphy which when fully developed may lead to an entirely new and simple system of communication.

We refer to the transmission of sounds by wire in just the same manner as we have hitherto transmitted symbols representing the different letters of the alphabet.


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