Postmaster-General's Department
Encyclopedia
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901 to control all postal (and later, telecommunications) services within Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission (trading as Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia was the trading name of the:* Australian Telecommunications Commission * Australian Telecommunications Corporation * Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation...
) and the Australian Postal Commission
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
(trading as Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
). It also controlled radio and television broadcast licensing, which is now controlled by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio...
. Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia was the trading name of the:* Australian Telecommunications Commission * Australian Telecommunications Corporation * Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation...
changed its name to Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
in 1995.
Early history (telephony)
The earliest telephone exchangeTelephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
s in Australia date back to 1880 (Melbourne). All phone calls were manually switched by human operator
Telephone operator
A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain...
s. The Melbourne exchange opened with just 44 customers.
The first automatic exchange opened in 1912, featuring electromechanical
Electromechanics
In engineering, electromechanics combines the sciences of electromagnetism, of electrical engineering and mechanics. Mechanical engineering in this context refers to the larger discipline which includes chemical engineering, and other related disciplines. Electrical engineering in this context...
switching equipment. Cross-bar
Crossbar switch
In electronics, a crossbar switch is a switch connecting multiple inputs to multiple outputs in a matrix manner....
systems started appearing in 1960. Electronic switching began in the late 1970s.
The Victorian Telecommunications Museum
Victorian Telecommunications Museum
The Victorian Telecommunications Museum is a small museum located in the Hawthorn Telephone Exchange, Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia....
houses examples of old technology used since the PMG's inception.