Old school: A Bakelite pyramid-type table telephone made in Australia by AWA from 1934.
THESE days it’s very uncommon not to have a mobile. But back in the 1950s many people didn’t even have a landline at home, they were still a luxury.
Long gone: Bright red public telephone boxes were once common-place all over Australia. Images: Phillip Simpson
The bright red public telephone boxes were often smelly and occasionally the phones didn’t work. Kids sheltered in them during rain and courting couples canoodled.
Between the 1930s and ’60s public phones for local calls had long barrel-like tubes and were nicknamed ‘Long Toms’. You’d roll your coins (originally pennies) into the slot to talk.
As the trunk network increased, multi-coin phones were introduced. They had a big black box beneath the wall-mounted phone with buttons marked ‘A’ and ‘B’. You’d press ‘A’ to get connected and ‘B’ for any unused coins to be returned. Sometimes there’d be a queue to use them and you’d agitatedly walk around the box making sure the caller inside could see you. It was a lesson in patience.
If you had a phone at home it took pride of place on a special table with a shelf underneath for the telephone book.
Children were instructed not to answer the phone by saying ‘hello’ but to announce the number, XJ1845. In Sydney, the letters referred to the local exchange.
Telephones used to be quite heavy, black and made of Bakelite. In 1963, new lighter plastic ones arrived in several colours to match your décor. Push-button dialling was introduced in 1978. Then, at last, the first mobile arrived in 1987. It was a big, brick-shaped monster which cost $4250.
