Home | History Hub | Albany's Postal and Telecommunication Legacy
By: Wally Offer
Original: 1963, Published: 25 March 2025
A Historical Overview of Postal and Telephone Services by Mr. Wally Offer, Postmaster.
In 1963, Postmaster, Mr. Wally Offer presented a comprehensive and captivating account to the Albany Historical Society of the long and rich history of Albany's postal and telecommunications services. Wally's detailed paper not only delves into the development of the area’s postal system but also traces the evolution of communication in the region. From the pioneering efforts to the modern advancements in the year of 1963, read about the fascinating exploration of the milestones and changes in Albany’s postal and telephone services over 130 years.
Mrs Sarah Lyttleton was Albany's first postmistress, and she held the office from October 14, 1834 until the July 15, 1835. The position was an honorary one. She was the wife of the Assistant Surgeon, Dr. Lyttleton, who arrived in the colony in 1831 and was later stationed at Albany. Mrs Lyttleton operated the post office from her home.
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Edward Spencer, son of Sir Richard Spencer, followed Mrs. Lyttleton becoming postmaster in 1835. His remuneration was £10 per annum plus an additional £5 for expenses. On the other side of the ledger, however, he had to put up a £100 personal bond and a surety of £5. After the death of Mr. Spencer in 1839, Thomas Brooker Sherratt, a lay preacher, became postmaster and it is thought that the post office was situated in his store, the Westralian Farmers site. Steven Knight a magistrate's clerk, followed in 1842 and it is recorded that around this time mails were exchanged with Guildford by means of spring cart, the journey taking about 12 days each way. The following year, 1843, storekeeper John McKail was made postmaster.
In the late 1840's the mail route was via Kojonup, Bunbury, Mandurah and Fremantle to Perth. In 1847, Stephen Knight again became postmaster.
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The arrival of the SS Australian in July, 1852 and later the SS Chusan marked the beginning of mails by steamer, and by the end of the year 555 ships’ letters, 277 colonial letters and 326 official letters had been handled in a six month period. The postmaster’s salary now entered the upper brackets - it was raised to £15 per year. Towards the end of 1853 the overland mail travelled a new direct route via Kojonup, Williamsburg and Kelmscott Park, practically the same route as the present Perth-Albany Highway, and in 1859 the time allotted for the journey was cut to seven days.
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In 1861, Sir Alexander Cockburn Campbell became Governor Resident, and through his efforts the, now old post office came into being. The site chosen was “considered by the inhabitants to the best in Albany” and the plans finally drawn up in 1867. A tender submitted by Messrs. Adams and Mottison for £4184/18/9 was accepted.
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Convict and Crown prisoners excavated some 7,000 cubic yards of soil and stone, and locally made bricks and lime used together with granite from Mt. Clarence and timber and sheoak shingles from the Plantagenet Groves. The building was commenced in April, 1868 and completed in December 1869, and consisted of a Court House and Government Resident’s and other officers, Customs House and Post Office. The western half and clock tower were not added until 25 years later.
Albany Post Officer, Stirling Terrace. Source: AHS Collection P1988.23
In 1872, with postmaster Mr. E. W. Howard on £100 per annum, the telegraph service became available to the district, and in 1874 it was decided to link Albany with Eucla by means of a telegraph line. The first pole which was installed by Governor Weld at Albany may still be seen outside the old post office building in Stirling Terrace.
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At 7:00 PM on December 8, 1877 the telegraph line between Albany and Eucla was opened, and teams of telegraphists from South Australia and Western Australia, worked together in the same building at Eucla passing telegrams to each other by hand for onward transmission to South Australia or Western Australia, whichever the case. By 1877 mail was carried four times weekly to Albany, and the contract worth £200 and 1884 saw the 1st letter delivered by postman.
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With the completion of the Great Southern Railway from Beverley to Albany in 1889, the mail coach ceased to run. Mails were now carried by rail in 18 hours which was a great step forward. The discovery of gold at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie brought a wave of prosperity to Western Australia, including Albany, where ships from all over the world now entered Princess Royal Harbour. The public offices were now not large enough and in 1895, £4,500 pounds was spent on a new section, including a clock tower 80 feet high. Inside the clock tower was a newel-less spiral stairway built of Sydney bluestone. The same year saw the opening of the telephone exchange, and available records tells us that there were 112 subscribers and two telephonists. Charlotte Prideaux and Louise Parish.
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In 1900, a number of coastal mail services to various areas commenced. Places to receive such benefits with Cape Richie, Esperance, Hopetoun, Alexander River, Point Malcolm and Israelite Bay, and the surface was fortnightly. Eucla received mail in January, April and October. Land mails ran fortnightly to Broomehill, Woodlands, Woodburn, Warriup, Pallinup and Martinup. 1914 saw Mt. Barker connected to the Perth-Albany trunk line.
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June 1921, witnessed the retirement of John Norman, who had been postmaster since 1898. A son of James Norman, who came from England early in 1841 in charge of consignment of sheep and cattle from Messrs. Pyn and Boucher of Morelup (now known as Kendenup), he was appointed junior clerk at the Albany post office in 1877 and had the unique experience of having served the whole of his 44 1/2 years’ service without being transferred from that office.
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In 1928 there were 332 telephone subscribers, connected to the Albany exchange. A new central battery exchange, equipped initially for 1400 subscribers’ lines and housed in a building erected on a block adjacent to the new post office was opened on the 5th February 1957. Subscribers at the time numbered 1074, and for the first time in Western Australia “pip tone” signals were used to denote the end of each three minute period on trunk line calls. The telecommunications building in which the exchange is situated cost £16,000 and the exchange equipment £36,000.
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Two Radio Broadcasting Stations were open in 1956, a commercial Station and an ABC Regional Station. Television is expected by March 1966 with the establishment of a national transmitter at Mt. Barker. Repeated stations will be built at approximately 35 mile intervals between Perth and the Mt. Barker transmitter and programmes will be relayed from Perth by means of broad-band micro-wave system.
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In May, 1963 a £44,956 contract was let to Mr. E. E. Baxter of Nedlands for the erection of a two-storey post office at the corner of York and Grey Street. Situated in the heart of the business centre of the town and immediately opposite the Town Hall, the new post office will replace the 95 year old one in Stirling Terrence and they non-official office at North Albany which was established nearby in 1936.
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Postal and telegraph facilities will occur the entire occupy the entire ground floor, with staff amenities and the Postal Institute on the first floor. Designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works for functional data and plans supplied by the Building Section of the Post Office, the brick building has a light steel frame and aluminium framed windows. Special features are a landscaped area fronting York Street, and a paved ramp for pram's.
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The old building in Stirling Terrace will continue to be occupied by other Government Departments. Since World War II, post office business has increased considerably in volume as a the district has grown and prospered. Postal articles handled increased from 1,840,000 in 1949 to 4,142,000 in 1963. Trunk line calls increased from 53,000 to 260,000 and local calls from 300,000 to 1,14 0,000 during the same. The number of telephone subscribers increased by 140% to 1,686.
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At present there are 6 direct telephone channels between Albany and Perth. 9 between Albany and Mt. Barker, 5 between Albany and Katanning and 6 between Albany and Denmark, besides those to other offices. The Postmaster-General’s Department‘s five year programme ending in 1965 provides for a further 3 Albany – Perth, and 4 Albany- Katanning channels. In addition to the approved five-year Trunk Junction Line Programme envisages extra channels between Albany and Bornholm, Cuthbert, Elleker, Emu Point, King River, Kronkup, Lower Kalgan, Mt. Many Peak, Napier, Torbay, Upper Kalgan and Youngs Sidings.
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Six manual and eight country automatic exchanges are at present controlled by the Albany Exchange and several more are planned.