History of the Telstra Research Laboratories
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Telstra and its predecessors, the PostMaster Generals Department and Telecom Australia, have pioneered the provision of many telecommunication services in Australia. Many would not have occurred without the ideas and assistance from staff at the Telstra Research Laboratories. Two notable pioneering efforts are the Digital Radio Concentrator System (DRCS) and the Priority™ One3 system. Both these systems are highlighted in the Introduction to the History of the Telstra Research Laboratories.
A chronological listing of Notable Events and Technical Achievements since the inception of the Research Laboratories in 1923.
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Sidney Herbert Witt (1923-1945)
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Eric Percival Wright (1945-1953)
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Norman James McCay (1953-1960)
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Leonard Michael Harris O.B.E. (1960-1964)
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Percy Rollo Brett O.B.E. (1964-1975)
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Edward F Sandbach (1975-1985)
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Harry S Wragge (1985 -Dec 1992)
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Ray Liggett (Dec 1992 - Sept 1993)
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Bruno Sorrentino (Sept 1993 - Oct 1993)
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James Park (Oct 1993 - March 1995)
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Noel Teede (March 1995 - June 1995)
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Graham Shepherd (June 1995 - Feb 1997)
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Hugh Bradlow (Feb 1997 - June
2000)
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Paul Kirton (June 2000 - June 2001)
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Hugh Bradlow (July 2001 - Dec
2005)
The following video and audio clips are not available on line. However, you can follow the
links for information about the clip. I have not placed them on any video/audio
streaming service such as YouTube because many are over the 10 minute
restriction and some are controversial. If you really want to see them, a set of 2 data DVD's
with the complete History of the Research Laboratories including all video and
audio clips is available at no cost. For details on how to obtain the DVD's email me
(address is on first page of www.coxhill.com).
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Propagation Section
(1966 and early 1970's)
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Andre Domjan Lecture
(1972)
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Tomorrow is Now (1973)
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Revolt of the Instruments (1973)
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Open Days (1973)
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1930's Electronic
Laboratory (1973)
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Training Annex
(1974)
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Digital Telephony in Australia
(1978)
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API Children's
Christmas Parties (1978)
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The Busy Ray (c1979/1980)
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Rings Of Fire (1981)
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Lightning Research (1983)
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Caldermeade Construction (1983)
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Engineering Equipment Section (1985)
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ISDN Tutorial (1985)
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Cockatoo Feeder Damage
(1985)
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Telecom and You (1986)
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Rathdowne St Move (1986)
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Hec Ruddell (1987)
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The Telecom Report (1988)
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Information Age (1989)
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Recruitment (1989)
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Telecom Today (1989)
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Lightning Lab (1990)
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Speaking Clock (1990)
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Laserlink (1991)
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IST Shutdown (1991)
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Leap Second (1992)
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Blattnerphone (1992)
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Videophone (1992)
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Antenna Calibrations
(1992)
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OATS Building Construction
(1992)
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Caldermeade (1993)
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Telstra Song (1994)
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Wombat & Cockatoo
Damage (1994)
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Multimedia Lab (1996)
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Internet Fridge (1999ish)
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Laboratories 75 Year (1999)
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BigTV (2001)
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Science In Schools project
(2001)
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Showcase Opening (2001)
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Catalyst featuring Geoff Huston (2002)
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Various non-TRL (19??)
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Albert Syler (1975)
(why lasers won't work) (8 Mins)
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iRadio Transmission #2 (2000) (5 audio tracks 1 Min, 21
Mins, 9 Mins, 10 Mins and 1 Min)
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Hugh Bradlow on KissFm (2002) (21 Mins)
> See also
TRL Christmas Carols below.
The Research Laboratories staff and equipment were accommodated in a variety of buildings over the years. From about 1940 to 1988, accommodation was scattered in buildings around the Melbourne Central Business District. In 1988, all of TRL was finally located on one site in Clayton. The History of Laboratories Accommodation over the years is detailed in this section.
The Research Laboratories have utilised a wide variety of Computing devices over the years. A brief History of Laboratories Computing is given in this section.
The Research Laboratories were a prolific source of publications. A brief History of Laboratories Publications is given in this section
Media Items
Media items about TRL.
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Applied
Science Branch (March 1987)
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Switched
Networks Branch (February 1992)
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Telecommunication
Science & Technology Branch (March 1995)
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Networks Branch
(May 1996)
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Information Networking Section (June 1996)
> Unofficial Staff Photos, Buildings & Equipment
Links
to other Australian telecommunication history sites
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Australasian
Telephone Collector's Society
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Historical
Radio Society of Australia
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Australian
Computer Museum Society
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Victorian
Telecommunications Museum Inc.
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Memories of TRL Some memories from Rick Coxhill who worked at
TRL for 39 years.
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A Day
in the Life of a Section Head Some
stories from Gavan Rosman.
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Skeletons
in the Cupboard
The dark side of TRL.
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Tool Kit Numbers
A 1968 list of staff and their Tool Kit Numbers.
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Chronicles of Trel Satirical look at events in TRL from 2001 to 2005. Only meaningful to those who
worked at TRL since about 1990. The chronicles were supplied to me anonymously.
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Keeping in
Contact
A mailing list/newsgroup to keep in contact with xTRLer's.
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Madonna
A tasteless posting to the aus.flame newsgroup in 1991 that
nearly got the TRL internet connection cut off and resulted in
internal newsgroup censorship.
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The Big
Walk (1978) The story of three intrepid staff who, on their first
day at the new Clayton site, walked
to Clayton from their old building in the
Melbourne CBD carrying the old buildings name plate.
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The
Telecom Australia
Xmas Card 
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The
Scientists Poster No 5 (featuring Albert Syler)
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The
TRL Christmas Carols
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Copy of a
plaque presented to TRL by NASA for technical assistance with the first moon
landing
Rick Coxhill for initiating the concept of documenting TRL History and on-going updates.
Paul Howell - for recovering the "Tomorrow is Now" film from the dumpmaster and arranging conversion to MPEG format.
Michael Wilkins - for initial MPEG conversions.
Katinka Emmer - for site design, initial creation and on-going updates whilst TRL was active.
Joe Briganti - for on-going updates and MPEG conversions.
TRL and Telstra staff - for historical material and information. In particular, computing and accommodation.
Last updated: Jan 2012
