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OLD TELEGRAPH STATION RESERVE, ALICE SPRINGS, NT

The gateway to the Red Centre, ancient and contemporary aboriginal culture, Alice Springs symbolises many facets of Australian life, and not least its settler history.The township – which was originally named Stuart – began life in 1871 as a telegraph station on the Adelaide to Darwin railway line, an integral part of the engineering feat that was to connect Australia with the rest of the world. (Before the installation of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line, news would take five months to reach Australia from England). Once there were 11 telegraph stations on the route and today the Old Telegraph Station Reserve in Alice Springs is one of a few that remain, now preserved as a museum to tell this story. alicespringstelegraphstation.com.au