Published Resources Details
Conference Paper
- Title
- Radio and audio pioneers of South Australia
- In
- Transactions of the 5th South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference, Adelaide, 13 May 2016
- Imprint
- Engineers Australia, South Australia Division, Adelaide, 2016, pp. 45-57
- Abstract
It is not generally remembered that South Australia has been in the forefront of many discoveries in the radio/audio/electrical/telecommunications fields. "The first recorded public demonstration of the wireless telegraph apparatus in Australia was given at the University of Adelaide in September 1897 by Professor William Bragg. In 1899 Bragg and his father-in-law, Sir Charles Todd, successfully operated a wireless telegraph spark system linking the Observatory on West Terrace with a temporary station at Henley Beach. It was a magnificent achievement at the time and put South Australia well ahead of experimenters in other Colonies in the field of communication without wires". Shortly afterwards, in September 1899, Bragg gave a series of public lectures and private individuals were enthused to experiment with Hertzian waves.
Later Bragg's interests moved to research into ionising particles, leading to his pioneering work in X-ray crystallography, the creation of a new field of science, and a Nobel Prize.
Even earlier than that was the tremendous feat of laying the 3200 kilometre Overland Telegraph, planned and organised by Charles Todd following his successful completion of telegraph lines to Melbourne and Sydney.
Todd organised three working parties for the Southern, Central and Northern sections of the telegraph line, the route being based on reports from the explorer John McDouall Stuart. The Northern party made very little progress because of personnel and contractual difficulties so Todd had to organise and send a second group to carry out that part of the work. The construction work took from June 1870 until August 1872, after which Australia was connected to the submarine cable through Java and India to England and Europe.
Related Published resources
isPartOf
- Transactions of the 5th South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference, Adelaide, 13 May 2016 edited by Venus, Richard (Adelaide: Engineers Australia, South Australia Division, 2016), 98 pp. Details