2022 $1 AlBr Uncirculated Carded Coin - 150th anniversary of Australian Overland Telegraph Line

Description

Life in Australia changed forever when Charles Heavitree Todd's Overland Telegraph Line opened. An extraordinary engineering feat, the line stretched 2,839 km from Port Augusta to Darwin through unknown and hostile territory, on 36,000 poles. This 2022 $1 Uncirculated Coin commemorates the 1872 opening of the line and Australia's historic telegraphic connection with the rest of the world.

In 1872, the South Australian Government completed the Overland Telegraph Line from Port Augusta to Port Darwin, and from there connected to an undersea cable that led to Europe.

Postmaster-General Charles Heavitree Todd had promised it would be done in 18 months, despite arid central Australia being mostly unexplored. He mobilised three large workforces, led by engineers, surveyors, and explorers, to install 2,839 km of galvanised number 8 fencing wire on 36,000 poles.

The line was joined, seven months late, at Frew's Ironstone Ponds, N.T. Then, at 12:10 P.M. on 22 August, Senior Telegraph Officer J.A.G. Little tapped Morse code into his handset, in Port Darwin. Fifty minutes later his message was read in Adelaide.

Soon after, electric communication through to London within 7 hours was a daily occurrence. The 'tyranny of distance' was conquered, and life in Australia was never the same again.

NOMINAL SPECIFICATIONS
Denomination $1
Year 2022
Metal content AlBr
Mass 9.00 g
Diameter 25.00 mm
Finish Uncirculated
Product 100mm(L) x 5mm(W) x 170mm (H)
Product Mass 100g
Maximum mintage 15,000
Packaging Coin in card
Obverse designer J. Clark
Reverse designer S. Stojanovic

Please Note: These are second-hand collectables and may contain scratches, creases, marks, toning or other minor damage. Feel free to ask for photos before purchasing.