Telecom Anecdote
A few years ago I wandered impulsively into the National Communications Museum housed in an old telephone exchange building in Hawthorn. I had been working in the area and must have had a long lunch between shifts.
My understanding of machines is very limited but I enjoy the look and action of them. Form follows function in a way that produces interesting shapes. Moving parts can be excitng. I was a bit wistful to realize that the last moving part in my personal music playing device (a spinning data disc) had been replaced by solid state chips. But in this telecommunications exhibit there were lots of moving parts.
Visitors saw telephone exchange desks with all these plugs on cords like those seen in old movies. There were banks of computers to fill a room. There was a progression of telephone hand-sets from over the decades. Anyone my age will feel a burst of nostalgia on seeing an old rotary dial interface and there were plenty of those. But into more recent times there was also a mock Internet cafe in one corner. I still wish that was the era we lived in - immobile Internet was the best kind of Internet for a balanced life.
The most impressive thing by far was a show of human skill. The tour I took was conducted by an old volunteer who had worked for Telecom. He knew a lot but then he took us to one corner of the exhibit in which an even older volunteer sat. This elderly man had once worked in telegraphy for the Postmaster General (which preceeded both Telecom and Australia Post). He had sat in a telegraph exchange transcribing messages and had the best party trick (albeit one that required a lot of clunky machinery).
The tour guide asked me to write my name on a piece of paper which he looked at then pocketed. He went over to a keypad and typed in my name. With every keystroke we heard a 'click-a-clack' and, for the telegraphy worker, each letter made a distinct sound. He had been staring into a corner away from us and, as soon as the typing was over, he announced my name. We were duly impressed by this fantastic display of learning and memory.
The museum was closed for a while but now it is back in operation with a flashy new look. I'm happy it is back but saddened that it lacks the old telegraphy trick. I need to share more anecdotes like this - things that I experienced but neglected to record at the time. That too is a form of communication.
My understanding of machines is very limited but I enjoy the look and action of them. Form follows function in a way that produces interesting shapes. Moving parts can be excitng. I was a bit wistful to realize that the last moving part in my personal music playing device (a spinning data disc) had been replaced by solid state chips. But in this telecommunications exhibit there were lots of moving parts.
Visitors saw telephone exchange desks with all these plugs on cords like those seen in old movies. There were banks of computers to fill a room. There was a progression of telephone hand-sets from over the decades. Anyone my age will feel a burst of nostalgia on seeing an old rotary dial interface and there were plenty of those. But into more recent times there was also a mock Internet cafe in one corner. I still wish that was the era we lived in - immobile Internet was the best kind of Internet for a balanced life.
The most impressive thing by far was a show of human skill. The tour I took was conducted by an old volunteer who had worked for Telecom. He knew a lot but then he took us to one corner of the exhibit in which an even older volunteer sat. This elderly man had once worked in telegraphy for the Postmaster General (which preceeded both Telecom and Australia Post). He had sat in a telegraph exchange transcribing messages and had the best party trick (albeit one that required a lot of clunky machinery).
The tour guide asked me to write my name on a piece of paper which he looked at then pocketed. He went over to a keypad and typed in my name. With every keystroke we heard a 'click-a-clack' and, for the telegraphy worker, each letter made a distinct sound. He had been staring into a corner away from us and, as soon as the typing was over, he announced my name. We were duly impressed by this fantastic display of learning and memory.
The museum was closed for a while but now it is back in operation with a flashy new look. I'm happy it is back but saddened that it lacks the old telegraphy trick. I need to share more anecdotes like this - things that I experienced but neglected to record at the time. That too is a form of communication.
posted by Dan at
30.8.25
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