Trafalgar West and Trafalgar South: About the people, postal and telephone services by John Hanley

John Hanley writes, ” The inspiration for these accounts comes from my 20 years as a PMG telecommunications technician at Trafalgar from 1959. Working with families and telephonists over this period, I came to appreciate their dedication to the local community and keeping them ‘in touch’.

“The postal and telephone services, especially in their infancy, relied heavily on the dedication of local people who were entrusted by the Victorian government pre-Federation, and subsequently the Australian Government Postmaster General’s Department, to provide postal and telephonic services. Those ‘in charge’ could not have delivered these services without the support and involvement of their families. It is with admiration for these families that  I have endeavoured to throw some light on family and community life in conjunction with associated events and dates.

“Since the opening up of the district around the late 1870s the Strzelecki Ranges have been stripped of their mountainous trees, replaced largely by productive farms and comfortable homes. Townships in some cases have grown while others are a shell of their former selves, or have disappeared and now referred to as areas. Consider though, the excitement and relief these early communities must have experienced when postal services first came to the area. The coming of the telephone would have been revolutionary, with neighbours, friends and relatives able to converse without leaving their homes. Businesses would have welcomed this service with open arms.

“It is of these years – before automatic telephone exchanges, mobile telephones and internet – I cover and trust the reader will gain a glimpse of this unique aspect of the postal and telephone history of Trafalgar West and Trafalgar South.”

ISBN: 9780648969310

$25.00

3 in stock