Leo Nette’s Beechworth’s Telegraph documents the evolution of telegraph communications in Australia during the second half of the 19th century, with particular focus on the town of Beechworth.

The book’s brief first section discusses the invention of Morse Code. The narrative then shifts to Australia. Readers learn that a man named Samuel McGowan arrived in Melbourne in 1853 and set up Australia’s first telegraph line. The rest of the book chronicles the expansion of telegraph services throughout Australia, state by state, ultimately zeroing in on Beechworth (largely because the author happens to know the town well).

There’s also a section detailing the training and working conditions of telegraphists, and another exploring the minutiae of telegraph instruments and equipment. At book’s end, the author offers mini-biographies of people involved in the project.

Nette is well-versed in the telegraph’s history and technology, and it’s clear he has done much research to support his story. The book includes contemporaneous newspaper reports and photographs, and the narrative is written in a straightforward and technical manner.

Unfortunately, almost no attention is given to the personalities behind the technological developments. The most readers learn about these figures are some impersonal, tedious biographical details, such as: “From Portland he moved to North East Victoria, taking up his position at Beechworth’s Electric Telegraph Station. Resignation from the Victorian Telegraph Service was published Wednesday 11th December, 1861 but he had left Victoria before then.”

The images and diagrams accompanying the text and illustrating how the telegraph functioned add to the story’s dry presentation. Overall, the book reads more like an encyclopedia or textbook than a narrative told with excitement and flair. Consider the subtitle of Chapter 11: “Extracts From The Victorian Government Gazettes, Describing The Tenders And Contracts For The Beechworth Telegraph Station & Newspaper Reports.”

As a result, the book’s audience is limited. Rather than general readers, it might interest avid telegraph enthusiasts, or perhaps a narrow subset of people from Beechworth.