This lithograph of Frenchmans Bay, looking out to Botany Bay in Sydney Harbour, shows men hauling ashore the telegraph cable that would connect New Zealand to Australia and the world. The cable was laid from Australia to New Zealand, coming ashore at Cable Bay, just north of Nelson. It opened for public business on Monday 21 February, 1876, with 54 telegrams received and 93 sent. The following day direct cable news from Britain appeared for the first time in New Zealand newspapers. The cable would remain New Zealand's sole international telecommunications link until 1902.
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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0047-1876-103
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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