In the first days of colony, letters bound Australia to Britain, carrying social, economic, political and scientific information. No post office existed in Sydney for the first twenty-one years of the colony's life, and mail was handled through ad hoc private arrangements which were subject to widespread abuses. In 1821, New South Wales passed legislation to regulate the postage of mail, in 1828 the office of Postmaster was created for Parramatta, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Penrith, Windsor, Bathurst and Newcastle, thus reflecting the spread of settlement in the colony. The real pacesetter, however, was Tasmania, which in 1828 appointed a Committee of Inquiry into postal reform and, four years later, established a postal service as a government department with the other colonies quickly following suit.
By 1850 New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania were extremely urbanised with most of the population living in cities, towns or villages. The gold rushes of the 1850s placed great strains on mail services resulting from the influx of people. Within each colony, the creation of post offices followed the movement of the population. These post offices were staffed, usually on a part-time basis, by men and women drawn from all walks of life and all sectors of the community.
In the mid-19th century a semaphore system was the fastest known means of communication, although this optical telegraph had several drawbacks. It was labour-intensive, totally ineffective at night, and rain, fog, mist and snow dimmed its power. The 1850s, however, saw the advent of electric telegraphy which transformed the business of communication in Australia by adding the crucial element of speed. In 1853 Samuel McGowan brought morse to Australia and the 1860s saw the spread of the telegraph throughout Australia.
By 1869 a distinct pattern had emerged in Australia with telegraph lines concentrated around capital cities and market towns, goldfields and denser pastoral and agricultural settlements. Smaller country towns were channelled into arteries that bridged capital cities. All lines were government-owned and administered in each colony by a department of electric telegraph which was joined to other State responsibilities and departments.
The effect of the new technology was seen in communication itself. For example, newspapers carried information transmitted by telegraph. The telegraph also presented intelligence from neighbouring colonies, news of movements of shipping, the price of goods, and reports from Parliament. The business community rapidly became the pivotal point for the demand for telegraph services as city and country-town offices became commissioning points for orders and centres of market and banking intelligence. The telegraph can also be seen as an important element of central government in the large colonies as a medium for issuing instructions and orders and announcing appointments.
South Australia actively sought to attract support for a link to the telegraph line which stretched overland from England to India. Sturt's journey through the Northern Territory provided the route and in 1872 the continent was spanned by the line which led to the development of Alice Springs and Darwin as repeater stations and provided further bases for exploration of the continent. In 1872, the telegraph cable from Europe and Asia was ultimately linked to the southern cities.
Overseas cable had an immense impact on the Australian colonies. Through fast communication, it generated economic development in the colonies and was a pervasive agent of social change. The overseas cable connection spurred foreign investment in the 1880s and was central to the growth of the business community. By the end of the century, the colonies dovetailed more closely with Britain economically, while at the same time trade connections with Asia were enlarged. The telegraph became a tool of business and commerce and the foundation of a new information society in Australia.
In 1901 the Constitution empowered the Commonwealth Government to take over, control and administer Posts and Telegraph Departments of each State of the new Commonwealth and 1 March 1901 saw the establishment of the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) from the former separate and distinctive colonial departments thus creating a national monopoly.
The development of the new Marconi Radio System saw the Department seek absolute control of the new communications system and in 1905 a short Wireless Telegraphy Act, giving the Department control, was passed.