# History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Stations/VIH Hobart/Notes
## POH-VIH Hobart - Transcriptions and notes
### 1910s
#### 1910
##### 1910 06

Queenstown City Council seeks support from Hobart City Council for linking remote Port Davey by telephone or telegraphy, raises issues for Hobart itself
   NEED FOR TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION. FAVORED BY CITY COUNCIL. At yesterday's meeting of the City Council a letter was read from the Queenstown Municipal Council asking that the Council co-operate in urging upon the Government the pressing need for telegraphic or telephonic communication between Port Davey and the settled centres of the State. Alderman Haywood moved "That this Council is of opinion that telephonic or telegraphic communication should be installed with Port Davey, and that copies of the resolution should be sent to the Federal and State Governments." If communication were established it would save a great deal of suspense and suffering. Alderman Freeman said that loss of life would probably have been averted in at least two instances of shipwreck if there had been telephonic communication with Port Davey. It was a matter for the Federal or State Governments. It would not cost a great deal to have a resident at Port Davey who could send word along to civilisation in time of need. Apart from shipping disasters, it sometimes happened that prospectors were kept in the vicinity of the south-west for six months waiting for a vessel to take them away. Alderman Crisp supported the resolution. Alderman Meagher said that the matter of telephonic communication would be an expensive one, and a line would be cosily to maintain. How-ever, in the interests of humanity, it was desirous that such communication should be established, and the people of the State should be prepared to foot the bill. The line would often be subjected to interruption, and another difficulty would be to get a man to stay at Port Davey for any length of time. It was desirable that vessels trading from Hobart to the West Coast should be equipped with wire-less telegraphy. The U.S.S. company, he was pleased to see, was now in-stalling "wireless" on several of its vessels, and he hoped that vessels trading to the West Coast would be included. He hoped that this would be done, and that the Minister for Home Affairs would establish a wire-less station somewhere in Tasmania. Alderman Amott favored the resolution. The communication asked for would be of great value to those in peril round the stormy West Coast. The motion was carried.

##### 1910 11

The Hobart Mercury in an opinion piece makes the case for a wireless telegraphy station for Hobart on commerce and defence grounds, immediately prior to Visit by Admiral Henderson whose report ultimately recommends such
   WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. STATION IN HOBART NEEDED. So far, the Federal Government has not made any provision for a wireless telegraph station in Tasmania, but now that so many vessels connected with Tasmanian trade will be fitted with the apparatus, a station in Hobart will become a public necessity. The mail steamers of the P. and O. and Orient lines have been equipped with this means of communication, and it would greatly facilitate business if during the months that they call at Hobart for London loading messages could be received while on their passage hither, and probably also for messages to be trans-mitted to them. The same applies to the White Star boats which come from Melbourne here in the fruit season. Some of the steamers in the London-Hobart trade have also been equipped with wireless, and in time, no doubt, all the steamers will carry the apparatus, so that it would be a great convenience and facilitate business very much if messages could be received from these vessels as to when they would arrive, etc. In addition to making arrangements for them to have the promptest clearance at the hands of the health authorities, everything could be in readiness for starting unloading and loading operations with the least possible delay. Furthermore, when mail steamers leave the Cape for Hobart it is not always known whether they will require coal here, and with a wireless telegraph station in Hobart information could be transmitted and received several days in advance of the ship's arrival. Coming nearer home, several of the Union Company's and Huddart Parker's steamers have been fitted with wireless, and in a short time all of the passenger steamers will be similarly equipped. It would prove a very great public convenience if it were possible for information to be received giving the time the vessels would reach port, especially during the tourist season. On the passage from New Zealand steamers are frequently considerably delayed by rough weather, and everybody on shore having business with them, including stevedores and waterside workers, have to keep watch through the night, so as to be in readiness to give the vessels quick despatch at whatever hour they may arrive. With a wireless station in Hobart all this would be changed, the time of arrival would be accurately known, and inconvenience, loss of time, and expense avoided. From a defence point of view, also, the question should commend itself to the authorities.

##### 1910 12

Hobart Marine Board compiles a large amount of material to place before Admiral Henderson (in support of a naval base in the vicinity)
   ADMIRAL HENDERSON'S VISIT. "What arrangements have been made for bringing facts about our har­bor before Admiral Henderson when he visits Tasmania?" was a query made at yesterday's meeting of the Marine Board by Warden Evans, who expressed the hope that the admiral would be shown the capabilities of the harbor and taken to Norfolk Bay and other such places. The Master Warden (Mr. W . H. Burgess) replied that very full information had been compiled by the harbormaster (Captain McArthur), and would be laid before the admiral.
The Hobart "Mercury" in an opinion piece puts the case for Hobart, not just as a naval base but the key base for the whole of Australia
   NAVAL BASE QUESTION. VISIT OF ADMIRAL HENDERSON. TASMANIA'S CLAIM FOR CONFEDERATION. The question in the minds of many Australians just now is that of naval bases, into which Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson is at present inquiring at the request of the Commonwealth Government. His report is awaited with the keenest interest, and mainland papers are already impatiently speculating as to where the chief base is likely to be. It seems to be taken for granted that, apart from the main base, other ports on the Australian coast will be recommended for coaling stations and war and food depots in times of national stress. Some weeks ago Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Poore, the retiring Commander-in-Chief of the Australian squadron, gently hinted in a speech at Sydney that, owing to the increasing size of warships, the base would have to be removed somewhere else. In drawing attention to Britain's latest ships, His Excellency said he was afraid, that Sydney would be hard put to to find ac-comodation for a squadron of them, and that they would look rather sadly to the time when the Australian fleet comprised ships of such handy size as the Dutch war vessels, which were then on a visit to the New South Wales capital. There was evidently more in the mind of the Admiral than he gave expression to. Cognisant of the rapid strides which have been made not only in Great Britain, but in foreign countries, in producing warships of prodigious size, His Excellency apparently had an eye to future developments in regard to Australia's warships, and the need for a port that could properly accommodate them. Presumably, if the Australian navy is to be prepared to repel aggression, it will have to be composed of vessels as large and as heavily armed as those of any possible enemy, and Sir Richard Poore probably had this in his mind when he gently hinted to the Sydney people the need for more accommodation than can be found in Port Jackson. Of course, until the biggest ships come to Australia Sydney may be retained for repairs and the ordinary purposes of the navy, but Admiral Henderson has to deal with the future, and no doubt the Commonwealth policy will be largely dictated by his recommendations, certainly on all salient points. While it is desirable that the base should be so situated as to best enable Australia to repel naval aggression, the port chosen must have other essentials besides mere situation. It must be so situated as to be readily protected from an enemy's guns at sea; it must not be hampered by weather conditions; and it must not be a port where the fleet could be bottled up like the Russians were at Port Arthur by the Japanese, or the Spaniards at Santiago by the Americans. One does not, of course, presume to say where the base should be, as these are matters to be considered which an expert such as Admiral Henderson alone can deal with. It is desirable, however, as was emphasised in "The Mercury" some little time ago, that Hobart should not suffer from the want of a proper presentation of the case by the local authorities. The Melbourne papers are strongly advocating Westernport, which, in the opinion of Admiral Henderson, "is one of the finest ports in Australia, if not the finest." One has no hesitation in saying, however, that when Admiral Henderson comes south, as he will today, he will be prepared to admit that Hobart is not only the finest harbour in the Commonwealth, but probably cannot be surpassed in the world, and if it were a question of ports only, no one would have the slightest hesitation in deciding where the naval base should be. There are strategical reasons, however, to count in the selection of the base, and this, of course, is a matter that has to be left entirely to experts. A former Admiral on the Australian station, enamoured with Hobart harbour said it was the only port that he knew of where he could watch from his ship at anchor the vessels of his squadron doing 21-knot torpedo practice. A question of the utmost importance involved in the selection of a naval base must surely be the one relating to a suitable training ground, where there is plenty of room for battle practice, such as big gun practice, torpedo practice, and the manoeuvres of the ships in company, a training ground that is available all the year round, so that the crews can be kept in the highest state of efficiency. Such a training ground as this, apart from Hobart's extensive harbour itself, is to be found in Frederick Henry Bay, within an hour's steam of the city. Every Admiral who has been on the Australian station has found this to be an ideal training ground, and it is annually the rendezvous of the Australian squadron. This bay is some nine or ten miles long, five to six miles wide, and everywhere clear of dangers, and is away from shipping traffic. Then there is North-West Bay, in D'Entrecasteaux Channel, not to mention Storm Bay itself, and some other places. Without inconveniencing shipping, Frederick Henry Bay could be sealed for night practice, such as it is sometimes found necessary to do. With two big deep water entrances to the port, and a third, if thought desirable for strategical reasons to spend the money in making the Dunalley Canal opening on to the East Coast navigable for big ships, there is no fear of an enemy being able to bottle up the warships, as might be done at many of the mainland ports. Objections which might have been raised in the past to Hobart being the naval base on account of its being some 200 miles from Bass Strait, to which some naval officers think the warships should be handy, are to some extent overcome by the rapid means of communication, and the great speed of present day warships. Though the ideal steaming coal has not yet been found amongst the Tasmanian coal measures, there should not be much difficulty in establishing a coal depot at Hobart, the same as is done in other parts of the world. But, apart from that, an important fact to be remembered is that the Tasmanian oil fields promise to supply, an abundance of fuel, the kind which the Australian warships are to be equipped to burn. Then the work of supplying an abundance of cheap electrical energy, such as would be required in shipbuilding and ship repairing, is to be entered upon, and the raw materials for shipbuilding, such as the huge deposits of iron ore which have been found in the State, and declared to be the purest in the world, are, it is understood, to be turned to account for shipbuilding purposes by the company which has the great electric power scheme in hand. It is confidently anticipated that all these advantages which Tasmania has to offer will have some weight with Admiral Henderson when he frames his report for the Commonwealth Government.

#### 1911
##### 1911 05

Acting Tasmanian Premier supports the establishment of a wireless telegraphy station at Hobart
   WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. HOBART STATION WANTED. The Acting Premier (Hon. A. Hean) was interviewed yesterday regarding the desirability of establishing a wireless telegraph station at Hobart, a matter, the desirability of which was urged in a subleader in "The Daily Post" of yesterday morning. Mr. Hean agreed that the establishment of a "wireless" station at Hobart would be of great use to the shipping authorities, and that it might often prove of undoubted value in cases where a steamer equipped with "wireless" might be off the coast, signalling for assistance. He was sure that some day such a station at Hobart would be an absolute necessity, for, in the future, the number of ships calling at this port would be greatly increased, and probably they would all be fitted with wireless. At present, however, although the Government recognised the great value of such an installation here it could not ask the Federal authorities, under whose charge such stations would be, to move in the matter, because the request of the Tasmanian Government for a "wireless" station on King Island, where some means of communication with the mainland was badly needed, had been refused consideration until after the matter of establishing such a station on the Victorian coast had been decided on. However, when the proper time came, no doubt the necessary steps would be taken to have a station at Hobart.

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* ↑ "NEED FOR TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION". Daily Post (Tasmania, Australia) III, (143): p. 7. 29 June 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193262746. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
* ↑ "WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.". The Mercury (Tasmania, Australia) XCIV, (12,678): p. 5. 10 November 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10081810. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
* ↑ "ADMIRAL HENDERSON'S VISIT.". Daily Post (Tasmania, Australia) III, (287): p. 4. 14 December 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178315888. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
* ↑ "NAVAL BASE QUESTION.". The Mercury (Tasmania, Australia) XCIV, (12,711): p. 5. 19 December 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10085871. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
* ↑ "WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.". Daily Post (Tasmania, Australia) IV, (112): p. 7. 13 May 1911. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178336976. Retrieved 9 January 2025.