Mel Williams, Visitor Services
I went for a wander down to the Education Centre at Kiwi North, sleeves rolled up ready to make some arts and crafts but instead got completely distracted by a row a switchboards from an old Telephone Exchange, and I realised how little I know about the history of this technology in New Zealand.
I think most of us learn in school that the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. What is less well known is when New Zealanders were able to pick up that receiver.
News of technology allowing for the electrical transmission of sound reached the New Zealand government in 1877, just one year after its invention. Within one more year wires had been set up between Dunedin and Milton to test the new technology and this was quickly followed by a public demonstration linking Blenheim and Nelson.
For the government to consider implementing a Telephone Exchange however, there had to be at least 30 subscribers prepared to sign up and pay for its services, the cost of which was substantial at the time. There was an annual fee of seventeen pounds and six shillings just to rent the telephone, which is the equivalent of $12,000 today. The first group to do this was in Christchurch on October 1st, 1881. A month later Auckland answered the call with the implementation of the country’s second Telephone Exchange. There were around 50 subscribers in 1881 which rose quickly to more than 25,000 by 1910.
This new telecommunications technology was an exciting step up from telegrams, but it didn’t come without its issues.
There are reports of having to wait for up to two hours on busy mornings to be connected and delays of many days after disaster events when people were trying to connect with their loved ones.
Then there were the party lines which were considered a bit of a double-edged sword. While they meant more homes could have a telephone and more people could be connected, they were also renowned for bringing problems like usage allocation, eavesdroppers and endless ringing. A party line would be shared between up to ten homes, each phone assigned a specific ring sound so the correct person would know to pick up the receiver. Everyone heard every ring however so if someone didn’t pick up, the phone would ring until the caller hung up. The party line began in the late 1800’s and was only recently disconnected. In fact, Northland’s final two party lines, in Waipu and Waiotira were only disengaged two years ago.
Jacki Jensen worked as a Switchboard Operator in a Telephone Exchange in Pahiatua from 1979 until 1983, taking emergency and directory calls. She recalls how on one shift a colleague plugged her headset into the switchboard only to find herself propelled across the room after receiving an electric shock. She was fine, but very grateful for the wheels on her chair. Another colleague received a call from someone who didn’t know the base of the person he was trying to reach. His instructions were, “He drives a red ute with a dog box on the back of it”. Incredibly, the operator knew who he meant and patched him through.
New Zealand has historically been at the forefront of many things, and the telephone is no exception. The time between Alexander Graham Bell first dialing and asking “Mr Watson—come here—I want to see you” and that first phone call made in New Zealand is so much shorter that I thought.
If you know any information about the switchboards at Kiwi North please contact us?
1993.100.238
