Cardwell Bush Telegraph

Cardwell Bush Telegraph
Cardwell Bush Telegraph, 2003
Alternative names	Post Office, Post and Telegraph Office, Telegraph Office
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Prefabricated
Address	53 Victoria Street
Town or city	Cardwell
Country	Australia
Opening	3 January 1870
Renovated	1897, 2001
Technical details
Structural system	Timber
Floor count	1

Cardwell Bush Telegraph is a heritage centre in Cardwell, Queensland. It operates in the Telegraph and Post Office building, built in 1870,^[1] and is one of the oldest buildings in North Queensland.^[2] The building operated as a post office until 1982.^[3] It was refurbished, conserved, branded “Cardwell Bush Telegraph”, and re-opened as a heritage centre on 28 February 2003. The heritage precinct also includes the former court house and jail, an area designated as a government reserve for much of the township's history. The precinct welcomes visitors and showcases the history of Cardwell and its significance to the surrounding area. It is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register,^[4] and the Register of the National Estate^[5] of the Australian Heritage Commission.

It is located at 53 Victoria Street, Cardwell, on the corner of the Bruce Highway and Balliol Street at the southern end of the town.^[3]

History

Cardwell Post Office in 1930

Cardwell Post Office c.1930

Cardwell was settled in 1864, the first port settlement on the Queensland coast north of Port Denison (Bowen). The first party of non-indigenous people to settle at Rockingham Bay arrived in January 1864.^[6] They were 20 in number and they came from Bowen on the small schooner Policeman with the three ton cutter Heather Bell in tow.^[7]

After the establishment of Cardwell to serve the grazing properties inland, the township became a significant focus for the region. The telegraph line reached the town on 29 December 1869 and five days later the telegraph office opened.^[8] The telegraph facilities at Cardwell were provided because the Government of Queensland hoped the connecting cable linking Australia to Asia and Europe by telegraph would be secured for the Gulf of Carpentaria from Java. However, in fact the cable was landed at Darwin not the Gulf. So the main purpose for which the Cardwell Telegraph Office and telegraph lines were built did not in fact materialise.

An unused Queensland telegraph form from the 1880s

The Telegraph Office was part of an administrative precinct which originally included a large Court and Customs House, Pilots' Quarters, Police Barracks and Lock-up, Lands Office, and a Police Magistrate's residence. The Divisional Board Hall was built next to the Post Office later, in 1892. Of this precinct, the intact Telegraph Office remains. The original Courthouse was demolished following a cyclone, but its 1890s replacement, constructed on a much smaller scale and a more recent Lock-up (gaol) dating from 1907 have been re-located to the rear of the adjacent block. That block also is the site of the former Divisional Board Hall, later the Shire Hall. Sadly, this hall was severely damaged in 2011 by Tropical Cyclone Yasi. It housed council’s museum at the time, which also suffered lost displays. However, the building was reconstructed closely to match its original timber appearance, with the stage area fortunately being retained within the rebuilt hall.

The resulting historic precinct presents a fine example of the workings and economics of colonial administration over a large thinly populated area, and the nineteenth century technology that coped with it.

The Telegraph Office building itself is also fascinating because of the depth of information preserved. Queensland State Archives and the Australian Archives yielded original specifications, plans, documents describing repairs and requirements and requests from staff for new chairs and a new clock, for example, allowing a good picture to be developed of the original construction of the building as well as changes it underwent through time. For example, originally it had a shingled roof and was set on low stumps with no ant caps but in response to the tropical climate, including cyclones and seasonal heavy rain, and white ants, the roof was replaced with iron and the building was lifted onto higher stumps with ant caps fitted.

The building was a residence as well as a service outlet. The Postmaster was also Linesman-in-Charge, responsible for maintenance of the telegraph line in his sector. Often it was his wife as Postmistress and telegraph operator, who ran the office while her husband was away checking the line.

As well as being significant in the history of the port of Cardwell, the Cardwell-Normanton telegraph line was a lifeline for the isolated people of this region. It provided contact with the rest of the world and encouraged development of the area.

Heritage centre

The Cardwell Shire Council received funding through Queensland Heritage Trails Network in 2001 for conservation and refurbishment of the former telegraph office, the former court house and lock-up as a heritage centre.

Visitors to this heritage centre can view the original postal room with its old telephone exchange and 1870s counter and check out the old weather station instruments. A message can be sent by Morse code and an interactive display demonstrates Cardwell's role in the telegraph line race between Queensland and South Australia. In the courthouse, the workings of local justice are displayed while the lock-up next door provides a firm reminder of the pioneering days of the north.

Across Balliol Street the new Cardwell Library, built in 2007-2008, can be visited for more information on the local history. Next to the library, which is also a Cassowary Coast Customer Service Centre, a large outdoor display facility houses local artefacts including an old tip dray and a springcart which was used in the area for many years. Cross-cut saws, a hand plough, a banana-case making machine, railway construction implements and other items are exhibited. Also near the library the old Cardwell School of Arts, which was the original town library, dating from the first decade of the nineteenth century, has also been refurbished. It now provides a home for local artists to display and sell their interesting art works.

See also

• History of Queensland

References

Further reading

• Jones, Dorothy, (1961), Cardwell Shire Story, Jacaranda Press Brisbane
• Hubinger, Sandy, (2010), The Calophyllum Shore : a Cardwell memoir, Salisbury, Qld. : 3e Innovative for the Cardwell and District Historical Society Incorporated

External links

• Libraries. Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
• Museums. Cassowary Coast Regional Council.

Coordinates: 18°16′03″S 146°01′46″E / 18.267387°S 146.029520°E / -18.267387; 146.029520