2022 $1 150th Anniversary of Australian Overland Telegraph Line Uncirculated Coin – AlBr
Life in Australia changed forever when Charles Heavitree Todd’s Overland Telegraph Line opened. An extraordinary engineering feat, the line stretched 2,839 km from Port Augusta to Darwin through unknown and hostile territory on 36,000 poles. This 2022 $1 Uncirculated Coin commemorates the 1872 opening of the line and Australia’s historic telegraphic connection with the rest of the world.
In 1872, the South Australian government completed the Overland Telegraph Line from Port Augusta to Port Darwin, and from there connected to an undersea cable that led to Europe.
Postmaster-General Charles Heavitree Todd had promised it would be done in 18 months, despite arid central Australia being mostly unexplored. He mobilised three large workforces, led by engineers, surveyors and explorers to install 2,839km of galvanised number 8 fencing wire on 36,000 poles.
The line was joined seven months late at Frew’s Ironstone Ponds, N.T. Then, at 12:10 P.M. on 22 August, Senior Telegraph Officer J.A.G Little tapped Morse code into his handset in Port Darwin. Fifty minutes later, his message was read in Adelaide.
Soon after, electric communication through to London within 7 hours was a daily occurrence. The ‘tyranny of distance’ was conquered, and life in Australia was never the same again.
Coin Features
- Coins reverse depicts the 150th Anniversary of the Overland Telegraph Line
- Obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II sculpted by Jody Clark
- Australian legal tender
Technical Specifications
| Year Date | 2022 |
| Denomination (AUD) | $1.00 |
| Metal Content | AlBr |
| Mass (g) | 9.00 |
| Diameter (mm) | 25.00 |
| Finish | Uncirculated |
| Maximum Mintage | 15,000 |
| Obverse Designer | J. Clark |
| Reverse Designer | S. Stojanovic |
| Packaging | Coin in card |
- Coin in image 1 is not to scale, it is to scale in the actual card.
ABOUT THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT
The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all Australia’s circulating coins. Opened in 1965 and situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberra, in the suburb of Deakin, the Mint is also a very popular tourist destination for visitors and locals alike. Swan Bullion Company is proud to be an authorised distributor for The Royal Australian Mint’s bullion and numismatic products.
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