Postmaster-General's Department
| Postmaster-General's Department | |
|---|---|
| Department overview | |
| Formed | 1 January 1901[1] |
| Dissolved | 22 December 1975[1] |
| Superseding agency | Postal and Telecommunications Department |
| Jurisdiction | Commonwealth of Australia |
The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was created at Federation in 1901 to take over all postal and telegraphic services within Australia from the states and administer them on a national basis. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission (trading as Telecom Australia) and the Australian Postal Commission (trading as Australia Post). It also controlled radio and television broadcast licensing, which is now controlled by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Telecom Australia changed its name to Telstra in 1995 and has since been privatised.
Abolishment
The Department was abolished in December 1975 by the Fraser Government, and replaced by the Postal and Telecommunications Department.[2] The change was intended to take account of the increase in the functions of the department to include all electronic media matters which had previously been the responsibility of the Department of the Media.[2]
Early history (telephony)
The earliest telephone exchanges in Australia date back to 1880 (Melbourne). All phone calls were manually switched by human operators. The Melbourne exchange opened with just 44 customers.
The first automatic exchange opened in 1912, featuring electromechanical switching equipment. Cross-bar systems started appearing in 1960. Electronic switching began in the late 1970s.[3]
The Victorian Telecommunications Museum houses examples of old technology used since the PMG's inception.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CA 9: Postmaster-General's Department, Central Administration, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 5 December 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fraser, Malcolm (18 December 1975). "MAJOR CHANGES IN MINISTERIAL AND DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS" (Press release). Archived from the original on 11 January 2014.
- ↑ Telecom Australia (1979), Switching Tomorrow, HQ Information and Publicity office
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