Telephones in years gone by. It is not known exactly when the first telephone call was made in New Zealand. A report appeared in the "Otago Daily Times" of 4th February 1878, which said that the previous Saturday a test had been made between Tokomairiro (now Milton) and Dunedin, over 37 miles of telegraph wire. (Source "The fabulous phone" booklet, prepared by the Public Relations Division, NZ Post Office, in 1968.) Shown below are some of the early telephones we used to use. (Source "The fabulous phone" booklet, prepared by the Public Relations Division, NZ Post Office, in 1968.)

Ericsson 'Skeleton' Phone 1892

Ericsson Wall Phone 1910

A later version of the Ericsson 'Skeleton' Phone 1909

When the first automatic exchange opened this was the type of wall phone used. 1914

New Zealand's first automatic telephone exchanges opened in Auckland and Wellington in 1912. It took many years to change over to automatic, especially in the rural areas. Rural exchanges were small and the locals enjoyed the friendly contact with exchange operators for many years till the manual equipment eventually wore out.

Pedestal telephones that were adapted for working on an automatic exchange came into use about this time. 1916

This is the 1930 new shape automatic telephone that was introduced into New Zealand. This was the first phone that was available in a range of colours. 1930

The Price of Wales admired this design when he visited Sweden. Subsequently it was brought to Britain and the first model arrived in New Zealand in 1939. 1939

When the book was printed this was the latest design available in New Zealand. It came in a range of six colours, some of them two-tone. 1960