THE first known telephone call in Dubbo was made on November 16, 1897 when Lady Mayoress Mrs R. J. J. Ryan contacted the Dubbo hospital.
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Mrs Ryan inquired after the welfare of patients during an official function at the town hall celebrating the launch of the new communication device.
The event was attended by Mayor Mr R. J. J. Ryan, Archdeacon Wilson, Alderman Muller, Messrs L. S. Donaldson, G. H. Taylor, T. W. Heaydon, R. B. Mackenzie, H. Copeland, A. B. Blaxland, T. Sloman. W. M. Dayrell, H. B. Pinnington. W. Hetherington, W. Leslie. C. W. Gregory, G. Barnett. W. P. Raper, J. Bagnell, J. Beston, J. M. Steel, M. J. Ryan, J. Carr, J. Field, Mrs Ryan, Mrs Tressider, Miss Wilson, Mrs Copeland, Mrs Raper, Miss Butler, Miss Manning, Miss Muller, Miss Derwin, Miss Raper, Miss Boyden and other ladies.
A report published in the Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate on November 17, 1897 said Mayor R. J. J. Ryan welcomed guests at 4.15pm before praising the efforts that had been made to establish the telephone exchange at the post office and telegraph office.
There was much laughter when the mayor said "the establishment of the telephone cable would allow ladies to ascertain at any moment where their husbands were and what they were doing".
The official group moved to the council clerk's office where the "telephone instrument" had been placed.
"The Lady Mayoress formally opened the service by sending the first message over the wires," the newspaper reported.
"Mrs Ryan spoke to the acting-matron at the hospital and received a satisfactory reply.
"Other ladies spoke through the telephone to friends, and received replies."
The newspaper reported the Dubbo telephone service started with 26 subscribers.
According to records held by the Telstra Museum in Bankstown, Dubbo was among the first 10 country exchanges opened in NSW.
Other exchanges were in operation at Bathurst, Broken Hill, Cobar, Goulburn, Lithgow, Newcastle, Wagga Wagga and West Maitland.
Museum spokesman Brian Mullins said 514 subscribers were connected to country exchanges by the end of 1897.
There were also 215 private telephone lines in NSW country districts.
The first long distance telephone trunk line service was opened to the public on January 3, 1898 between Sydney and Newcastle.
The following year the trunk line service to Katoomba was inaugurated in March and extended to Bathurst in June.
By 1908 the Bathurst trunk line had become overloaded with telephone traffic and long delays were unavoidable. The line catered for calls from and to Penrith, Springwood, Lithgow, Portland, Mudgee, Orange and other intermediate locations.
By the end of 1907 the number of telephone subscribers in Dubbo had increased to 75.
In 1909 the telephone exchange was operating in a room beneath the post office clock tower, described by the postmaster as being "very cramped for space".
In 1912 there were 165 Dubbo subscribers.
In late 1913 alterations were made to the post office building, possibly to accommodate a new exchange switchboard which is believed to have been installed at that time.
Work had also started on placing some telephone cables underground.
In 1914 a new Dubbo-Sydney line was established and in early 1915 trunk line facilities were available to the public.
A call to Sydney cost three shillings and fourpence for the first three minutes and two shillings and sixpence for each additional three minutes.
In 1938 the Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate reported the local exchange was catering for the needs of almost 700 subscribers.
In 1951 a Sydney to Orange underground trunk cable was completed. It was the largest project of its kind undertaken by the Australian Post Office to that time.
The cable provided communications to the western area of the state and catered for broadcast programs and telegraphs as well as telephone calls.
An improved service was provided for Dubbo telephone subscribers in 1956 when the system was converted to common battery working with the introduction of a 3000 central battery exchange.
The new system allowed 715 subscribers to merely lift their telephone receiver to contact the operator instead of turning the generator handle.
Automatic switching was available in the south-east part of Dubbo at 7am on February 3, 1966.
In 1971 full conversion of automatic switching coincided with the introduction of STD (subscriber trunk dialling).
Subscribers called 01 for trunk calls, 1105 for telegrams and 1104 for the official time.