Overland Telegraph Line Gazetteer
A table of place names associated with John McDouall Stuart’s expeditions and the Overland Telegraph Line. Included are latitudes and longitudes and the person responsible for namimg. The large number of places named by Stuart shows just how profoundly his and his men’s work influenced later travel routes and the path chosen for the OTL in particular.
MS Word
Letters of Charles and Alice During his absence in 1872, Charles and Alice exchanged a number of long letters which give, in contract to Todd's official reports, a frank and personal view of life on the Line and back in Adelaide. The letters have been edited to make them easier to read and a list of the people mentioned has been included.. Editor: Stephen Gillam-Smith.
PDF
Todd’s list of 71 instructions covering food, transport, firearms, personnel management, diary- keeping, health and morals, animal management, safety, camp security, finding water, dealing with lost staff, treatment of natives, exploring for track laying, technicalities of constructing the line, certification and dealing with subcontractors.
Instructions to Overseers in charge of Works
PDF
WORD Version
South Australian Newsprint 1870-72 Searchable listing of 358 news articles related to the OT from the South Australian press. Extracted from the National Library's TROVE system, it connects to each article on request. Gavin Beinke, 15 February 2022
spreadsheet
Constructors Camp at Roper River, 1872 [SLSA B4635]
List of Overland Telegraph Workers A list of more than 450 names of Overland Telegraph workers detailing year of birth and death, job or position on OTL, section worked on, sub-section of Central section worked on, comments or sources. Additions and corrections welcome, please contact author. Andrew Peake , 15 March 2022
Determination of the Meeting Point Following careful analysis of original sources, this table provides the fine-grained detail about the actual times and locations of several key Overland Telegraph construction events. This is an important source document for many of the OT-150 Telegrams. Andrew Crouch, 25 January 2022
List of Diaries and Other Sources Mainly original material relating to the people associated with the Overland Telegraph Line. Mentioned are the explorers, surveyors, engineers, supervisors, technicians, workers, and even the express riders. Details of the location and format of the sources are given along with additional notes. Additions and corrections welcome by the author. Andrew Crouch, 25 January 2022
Click an image to download the file
spreadsheet
spreadsheet
MS-Word
RGSSA List of OTL Holdings Includes the original diary of the penultimate South to North crossing of the Australian Continent by John McDouall Stuart, records of John Ross’ surveys, the experiences of one of the Telegraph Line’s construction supervisors, Christopher Giles, a leather estafette bag that was used by John Lewis’ pony express to ferry messages, and associated private accounts and government reports and maps. Rod Shearing, 1 May 2022, Royal Geographical Society of S.A.
Private Diaries of R. C. Patterson
Robert Patterson’s original diaries (State Library of SA - D 8103) plus Patterson’s formal reports and memoranda to the South Australian Government from the public record as S. A. Parliamentary Papers (SAPPs) in 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874.
PDF

OT-150 Logos

OT-150 QR Code

Eventbrite Listing

The OT-150 Committe will create an Eventbrite page for you. This will advertise your event, set out details, register attendees (within your specified maximum) and capture attendees details allowing communication with them as required.

For Authors and Presenters

Todd Corflute Collection (self standing) representing all of Todd’s professional and civic

areas of activity available for public lectures Contact info@ot150.net

Light

Surveying

Knighthood

Time Keeper

Meteorology

Astronomer

Civic Affairs

Telegraphy

Public Service

PostMaster General

All Activities

Life-sized, self-standing corflute

Sample standing

Who was Todd For those referring to Todd in displays, pamphlets, monographs, etc., these are usefull summaries in 30, 50 and 400 words of Todd’s accomplishments through his 49 years of service in colonial Australia
click to download

click to enlarge

Todd Rondel Used as the official branding image by the Todd Research Citizen Historian team
click to download
Todd Signature Signed as PostMaster General in December 1875 in the visitors book on a visit to the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse
Resources
Our researchers have collected a considerable amount of material. They’ve found sources of information, followed leads, made lists, written out notes, transcribed documents, give presentations and written books and articles . Some of this material is original work which its creators are happy to make available to other researchers interested in the same topics. If you make use of this material in any published work, we ask that you acknowledge its creators and the OT-150 website. If you would like to participate in the discussion about the Overland Telegraph Line, you are invited to join the Discussion Board. We thank the creators of these Resources for their support of the OT-150 commemoration.
FEATURED Overland Telegraph Workers Working as three parties, north/central/south, up to 500 people were involved in the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line. They ranged from labourers to telegraphists to doctors. Many pioneer families with roots in South Australia have connections back to those who built Australia’s connection to the world. We now have an almost complete listing of all those people for the first time.

For Researchers

Overland Telegraph 150th Anniversary 1872-2022
Resources
The researchers writing our Telegrams have collected a considerable amount of material. They’ve found sources of information, followed leads, made lists, written out notes, transcribed documents. Some of this material is original work which its creators are happy to make available to other researchers interested in the same topics. If you make use of this material in any published work, please acknowledge its creators and the OT-150 website. If you would like to participate in the discussion about the Overland Telegraph Line, you are invited to join the Discussion Board. We thank the creators of these Resources for their support of the OT-150 commemoration.
Constructors Camp at Roper River, 1872 [SLSA B4635]
Working as three parties, north/central/south, up to 500 people were involved in the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line. They ranged from labourers to telegraphists to doctors. Many pioneer families with roots in South Australia have connections back to those who built Australia’s connection to the world. We now have an almost complete listing of all those people for the first time.
List of Overland Telegraph Workers Spreadsheet with more than 450 names and work details of OT personnel. Additions and corrections welcome, please contact author. Andrew Peake , 15 March 2022
Determination of the Meeting Point Fine-grained detail about the actual times and locations of several key Overland Telegraph construction events. This is an important source document for many of the OT-150 Telegrams. Andrew Crouch, 25 January 2022
List of Diaries and Other Sources Diaries and similar created by OT personnel. Mentioned are the explorers, surveyors, engineers, supervisors, technicians, labourers and even the express riders. Additions and corrections welcome, contact the author. Andrew Crouch, 25 January 2022
Click an image to download the file
FEATURED Overland Telegraph Workers
More to come….
South Australian Newsprint 1870-72 Searchable listing of 358 news articles related to the OT from the South Australian press. Extracted from the National Library's TROVE system, it connects to each article on request. Gavin Beinke, 15 February 2022
spreadsheet
spreadsheet
spreadsheet
For Authors and Presenters

For Researchers

Please check the desktop (landscape) version of the website for useful items and services for your print material and public events.
RGSSA List of OTL Holdings Royal Geographical Society of S.A.: Original diary of the final N-S crossing of the Continent by Stuart, John Ross’ surveys, the experiences of one of the OTLine’s construction supervisors, Christopher Giles, a pony express estafette bag, and associated private accounts and government reports and maps. Rod Shearing, 1 May 2022,
MS-Word
Private Diaries of R. C. Patterson
Robert Patterson’s original diaries (State Library of SA - D 8103) plus Patterson’s formal reports and memoranda to the South Australian Government from the public record as S. A. Parliamentary Papers (SAPPs) in 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874.
Letters of Charles and Alice During his absence in 1872, Charles and Alice exchanged a number of long letters which give, in contract to Todd's official reports, a frank and personal view of life on the Line and back in Adelaide. Editor: Stephen Gillam-Smith.
PDF
MS-Word
MS-Word
Overland Telegraph 150th Anniversary 1872-2022
Todd’s list of 71 instructions covering food, transport, firearms, personnel management, diary-keeping, health and morals, animal management, safety, camp security, finding water, dealing with lost staff, treatment of natives, exploring for track laying, technicalities of constructing the line, certification and dealing with subcontractors.
Instructions to Overseers in charge of Works
PDF
WORD Version
OTL Gazetteer
A table of place names associated with John McDouall Stuart’s expeditions and the Overland Telegraph Line. Included are latitudes and longitudes and the person responsible for namimg. The large number of places named by Stuart shows just how profoundly his and his men’s work influenced later travel routes and the path chosen for the OTL in particular.
MS Word