We don't often get reminders of how stark progress is but an article from 1961 brought home how far telecommunications have come.
J.D. Morgan of the Ingle Store, Stanley Road, Ingleburn organized a petition to request another public telephone in Ingleburn. The only phone box in town was on the eastern side of the railway line and often had a long queue. 50 signatories signed the document noting that with the railway gates closed at frequent intervals valuable time would be lost in emergencies by anyone on that side of the track.
It was perhaps an opportune time for the request, as the Postmaster General's Department were active that year placing telephone repeater stations from Glenfield to Menangle. These were concrete bunkers, the size of a garden shed, amplifying signals through coaxial cables from Sydney to Melbourne and providing hundreds of telephone channels simultaneously! Described as bullet proof, the stations actually needed to be as "buildings like these in country districts are often targets for disappointed hunters and youths with rifles."
The trial of a public telephone in a private house occurred in Campbelltown but was deemed to have ended unsatisfactorily. No further information was given but it might be guessed at.
Those with private phone lines didn't always have ease of access either. In 1923, during the very early days of telecommunication, Ald Graham wanted Ingleburn to have its own telephone exchange siting the fact Glenfield had one! The Post Master General wrote to say a continuous telephone service could not be granted for Ingleburn unless the public was prepared to pay a salary for an official. Alternatively, a "slot machine" connected with the Liverpool exchange could be arranged. The proposal was accepted by Graham and Luff and whatever a slot machine entailed was installed.
The situation was somewhat better in 1927, an exchange had been created at Ingleburn and customers even asked for the exchange to stay open later than six. The local postmaster proposed to remain open until 8 o'clock with the exception of weekends and holidays. He would do this for an annual sum of 52 pounds instead of the current 39. There was some kerfuffle in communications between all parties involved but subscribers offered to pay a pound extra each and the extra hours were added.
...until 1932 when the PMG stated the sum of 2/1 was due from council on the debit incurred for the extended hours and the service had been suspended. It was resumed when subscribers were debited half-yearly instead of the local postmaster himself collecting the fee individually.
The circumstances with the existing eastern telephone box was bright though in 1935 when Alderman Naylor successfully lobbied to get the telephone booth illuminated with electric light.
From the forties on, the placing of public telephones seems to be a see-sawing of requests and approvals between the public, PMG and the council for small parcels of land on which to put the boxes. A variety of reasons were forwarded. A t-intersection sign was erected on Redfern Road after a number of car accidents were claimed to be unreported due to the lack of a telephone in the vicinity.
But was J.D. Morgan of the Ingle Store and his supporters successful in a public phone west of the tracks?
In the council minutes of 11/4/1962 a request by the PMG for a telephone at the corner of Stanley Road and Memorial Avenue was approved. And there's still one there today.
References
PMG asked permission to put Co-Axial repeater station Adjacent to Ingleburn Tel Exchange 28/10/1962
PGM wrote back to say proposed booth Oakley and Bensley Road
There is one on the corner of Stanley and Memorial!
Ald Naylor ing Rd and Taxi Rank Trove 20 Feb 1942
10 Aug 1928 p1 Public Mayor phone charged to Council
Trove CIN -14 Jan 1927.
Ingleburn Council Trove 12 Feb 1932 p8
Local Districts Play Part in Big intercity telephone Expansion Macarthur Advertiser Febrauary 5 1960. p.1
May 20 1932 PMG said there are no funds to extend hours.
Lighted phonebox -31 May 1935
own telephone exchange in IBN 2 Mar 1923
1 June 1923 Trove continuous service
Another public Phone wanted 14 1961 IBN News p 12
