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Kōrero: Telecommunications

Early telegrams

Image
Early telegrams

Telegrams were used for important news, or to celebrate significant events. They were often kept as a memento, like the telegram shown here. It was sent to Canterbury’s provincial superintendent, W. S. Moorhouse, along with many other congratulatory telegrams when the Lyttelton tunnel was opened in 1867.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: MS611 70-5n2

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

A. C. Wilson, Telecommunications – Early telegraphy and telegrams, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/21999/early-telegrams (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā A. C. Wilson, i tāngia i te 13 April 2010, updated 1 April 2022.