Morse code machine

Communication in Australia was changed by the invention of the telegraph. This meant messages could be sent by electricity travelling along wires strung between high posts. The first telegraph message across space through electrical impulses was sent in 1844. A telegraph operator would read a sentence, and convert it into ‘Morse code’, where each letter of the alphabet was represented by its own combination of dots and dashes. Each dot or dash was created by an operator using a small machine, like the one in this photograph. Australia’s first telegraph line began operation between Melbourne and Williamstown in 1854. Within four years, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were connected.