Wall telephones

Crank handle on the right & an earpiece/mouthpiece on the left hanging on a hook. Set of twin bells in the middle.

Ear-piece hangs on left. On top of wooden unit are 2 dome-shaped bells. On the front is a mouthpiece & rotary dial.

Table top

Field telephone

Radio telephone

Ericophon telephone with black rotary dial underneath, circa 1950.

Mobile phones

On 2 Feb 1878, Dunedin electrician Charles Henry organised a 'talking telegraph' trial

His home-made telephone instruments were connected to the telegraph line at Dunedin & Tokomairiro (Milton) Post Office

In 1878 the Govt set up wires between Dunedin and Milton to test the new telephony invention

Telephone poles & copper wire lines often called ‘Lemon trees’ after General Manager of the Telegraph Dpt, Dr Lemon

First call on a private line thought to be made by a Mrs Sheehy in 1878

She took a call from a Roxburgh farm in central Otago. (Source: The Future With Telecom’ report, Telecom 1991)

Glass insulators manufactured 1890s - 1940s

Used to insulate electrical wires so that the electricity does not leak into the pole & into the earth

Kiwi ingenuity: Electrical insulator used 1898 dubbed 'the worse line' in NZ

Six surveyors used glass beer bottle, manuka stick, cons/washers & wire & nearly killed themselves

Glass & ceramic preferred for insulators as are poor conductors of electricity

The first telephone office was opened at Port Chalmers in 1879

First link was between Port Chalmers and Portobello so shipping information could be relayed to Dunedin more quickly

New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department created when Electric Telegraphs Dept merged with Post Office Dept in 1881

The new Dpt later became known as the New Zealand Post Office in 1959

NZ's first manual telephone exchange with battery operated transmitters was in Christchurch in 1881

30 subscribers required to make an exchange viable. Each person rang operator to be connected with the number required.

Headset and breastplate

Used by switchboard operators at the Awarua Radio Museum

Partylines enabled up to 10 people to share the same phone line

Each phone had a specific ring so they could tell if a call switched by the operator was intended for them

They could also eavesdrop on others' calls, as could the operator if they chose to do so

Radio amplifier for telephone

Marketed to households in 1920s

Sending music, songs and nursery rhymes also became popular (Source: Te Ara)

Coin-operated pay phone, 1950s

Coin-operated pay phone, 1980s

Calculagraph used for timing toll calls

Invented in 1888 by clockmaker Henry Abbot & first used in telephony in 1894. NZ telephone exchanges used 90 years.

Country Telecommunications Act (1912) enabled rural areas to build their own networks & link into public network

Private telephone line at Kopuru, Kawakawa

Raising telephone pole

Using General Post Office truck, Wellington, circa 1920s.

Raising telegraph pole

Shear-legs used when the pole has reached a height too high for a derrick

First automatic exchange equipment used in Auckland & Wellington in 1912 to supplement manual exchange

Automatic exchange increased capacity to handling 500 lines at a time

The first private automatic branch exchanges (PABX) appeared in 1925

First telephone cable was laid across Cook Strait in 1926 to replace telegraph cable

Toll calls could be made from anywhere in the North & South Islands

International calls between Wellington & Australia in 1930, & Gt Britain in 1931 using Australian beam wireless stations

Toll operators could place overseas calls via Wellington. A call to Britain cost £6.15s & to Australia £1 per minute.

From 1950s and 1960s, international submarine cables with more advanced technology are laid

COMPAQ (Commonwealth Pacific) linked NZ to Australia & Fiji (1962), Canada (1963) & South-East Asia (SEACOM) in 1967

Training of Post and Telegraph Dpt staff at Trentham with model of telephone pole, 1955

Inter-office switching

Answerphone

The 111 emergency service number introduced in 1958

By 1959, NZ offered a flat fee for unrestricted calling within local exchange area & toll fees for calls to other areas

Coaxial cable was laid from Auckland to Hamilton and from Wellington to Palmerston North in 1960

In 1960s, first worldwide satellite links. NZ joined INTELSAT, which was largely American funded, in 1965

By 1966, NZ toll operators were able to dial subscribers direct in Australia and Fiji. without going via Wellington

NZ Post Office opened its first earth-based satellite station at Warkworth in July 1971

3-way conference calls via SPC (Stored Programme Controlled) exchanges from 1980

Calls could also be put on hold, and call diversion used

Fibre-optic cable introduced 1982 & replaced co-axial cable from 1983

Fibre-optic cable had much greater capacity to carry video, data and voice signals

Nicknamed ‘the brick' due to large size

At its launch in 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC sold for US$4,000

Mobile phones work on cellular networks

New Zealand Post split into 3 state-owned enterprises on 1 April 1987

- Telecom, Post Bank & New Zealand Post.

Govt sold Telecom to Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Fay Richwhite Holdings & Freightways Holdings in 1990

Sale conditions: retention of free local calling, nationwide rentals & price increases tied to Cost Price Index

Size & price of mobile phones reduced in 1990s

Short message service (SMS), or texting, introduced in 1998

By early 2000s, two Telecom competitors were TelstraClear & Vodafone who were followed by 2degrees & other firms

Legislation in 2006 required local loop unbundling (LLU): telephone lines & exchanges open to rival companies

Smartphone features increased from early 2000s

You could play games, receive TV, exchange emails, & use GPS navigation, music (MP3), & other apps (applications)

Also take & send photographs & videos

Soundchair with music via iPhone

Telecom was re-branded as 'Spark New Zealand Limited' in 2014