Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Postmaster-General Wall Phone, 1920s

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Subcollections

Communications Gallery - Centenary of Royal Australian Corps of Signals

Overview

1920s Stromberg Carlson magneto wall telephone. This and other similar North American phones were imported when Ericsson could not keep up supply.

Historical information

The first telephones supplied by the Postmaster-General’s Department were "Commonwealth" Ericsson magneto wall telephone. Similar models from other companies were also used when supplies were short. These included the "National" (Britain) and "Kristiania"(Sweden/Denmark). These other models are recognisable by a rounded top rather than the decorative crown. The "British" Ericsson magneto wall telephone was first selected during WW1 as the replacement for the Commonwealth Ericsson. Substantial supplies did not start to arrive in Australia until around 1920. This phone was the "workhorse" in rural Australia for decades with only minor model changes in that time. The 1920s Stromberg Carlson magneto wall telephone and other similar North American phones were imported when Ericsson could not keep up supply.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-54-612

Inscriptions and markings

The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901 Departmental responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was abolished in December 1975 and replaced by the Postal and Telecommunications Department. Two separate legal entities had been established in July 1975 to take over the department's operations: Telecom Australia (colloquially "Telecom"; later became Telstra) and Australia Post.

Links to additional resources

Australian telephones 1901- 1915

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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