Constructing Australia: A Wire Through the Heart (3-Day Rental)

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRODUCT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMERS RESIDING IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. ANY ORDERS FOR THIS PRODUCT THAT ARE PLACED FROM OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND WILL BE CANCELLED AND REFUNDED.

PLEASE NOTE: If paying via purchase order, your 3-day rental period will begin when we approve your order. (Approvals are usually processed regularly during trading hours, but please allow up to two business days.) If paying up-front via credit card or PayPal, you will have access to stream the file in a matter of minutes, and your 3-day rental period will begin straight away.

You will receive an email (separate to your tax invoice) with a link to watch this video once your payment is received (or when we approve your purchase order).

Australia in the mid 1800s was a land isolated by distance and divided by two very different cultures. John McDouall Stuart's incredible crossing of this inhospitable land enabled Charles Todd to construct a telegraph line through the heart of the continent, bringing Australia to the world and the world to Australia. Its construction heralded the start of a new communications era every bit as revolutionary as the internet. News from overseas arrived in hours rather than months, securing Adelaide's position as the centre for early colonial communications. It made Todd a hero – but it cost Stuart his life.

(2007, 55 mins) A Film Australia Making History Production in association with Piper Films and the South Australian Film Corporation. Developed with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

© National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.