All Red Line
The All Red Line was a system of electrical telegraphs that linked much of the British Empire. It was inaugurated on 31 October 1902. The informal name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps.
Construction
The first
By 1870,
To complete the All Red Line, therefore, the final major cable laying project was the trans-
Originally, the British government felt the All Red system should have sea-landings only on British-controlled soil for security purposes. Due to this, Britain actively sought to acquire
Completion
The
The 1911 report stated that the Imperial Wireless Chain should only be a "valuable reserve" to the All Red Line, because enemies could interrupt or intercept radio messages. Despite its great cost, the telegraph network succeeded in its purpose: British communications remained uninterrupted during the First World War, while Britain quickly succeeded in cutting Germany's worldwide network.[5]
The Pacific Cable Board laid a duplicate cable between Canada and New Zealand between 1923 and 1926, using the cable-laying ships Dominia[6] and Faraday.[7]
Routes
Atlantic Ocean stations
Pacific Ocean stations
- Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada
- Fanning Island, which was deserted until the telegraph relay station was established.
- Fiji
- Hong Kong
- Norfolk Island (branching to New Zealand and Australia)
- Southport, Queensland, Australia (the Pacific Cable Station still exists and is heritage-listed)
Indian Ocean stations
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- )
- Mauritius
- Perth, Australia
Commonwealth Telegraph Agreement
In the final years of the British Empire, with a number of states federated or close to independence, a treaty with clearer financial divisions, responsibilities, and governance was established that would eventually replace the Pacific Cable Board. A treaty Commonwealth Telegraph Agreement was signed between
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b The path of the line through Australia depicted in the image is incorrect: It should instead enter through Darwin and not Perth, with the overland telegraph line moving straight down to Adelaide through Alice Springs then connecting into Australia's existing telegraph network.
References
- ^ "Transatlantic telegraph cable – 1858". National MagLab.
- ^ "Transatlantic cable – 1858". IET Library.
- ^ "The SS Great Eastern and the amazing story of the transatlantic telegraph cable".
- ^ "1871 Java - Port Darwin Cable". History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications. 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- JSTOR 563928.
- ^ "CS Dominia". atlantic-cable.com. History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
- ^ "Local and General News". New Zealand Herald. 1926-11-17. p. 12. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
- ^ "The CTO – a brief history | CTO: Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation". www.cto.int. Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
External links
- Map of the 1902 line
- A 1904 speech by Sandford Fleming on the importance of an imperial cable system.
- Gentlemen of the Cable Service