Local Government
Broome
Region
Kimberley
Cable Beach Broome
Cable Keepers Cottage (fmr)
Broome
Kimberley
Type | Status | Date | Documents | More information |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heritage List | Adopted | 28 Aug 2014 |
Type | Status | Date | Documents |
---|---|---|---|
(no listings) |
Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | More information | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Category | Description | ||||
Municipal Inventory | Adopted | 28 Aug 2014 | Grading B |
Grading B |
Cable and building remains are a significant and relevant marker of the history of telecommunications and Broome’s pivotal role in that network.
The concrete foundations and housings of the cable and junction box are evident approximately half way along Cable Beach, in the sand dunes of Minyrr Park. The remains of the cable keepers cottage are also in the vicinity.
In 1888, the two undersea telegraph cables linking Java and Darwin were broken by volcanic activity and the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company (E.E.T. Company), which operated the cable, decided to lay another cable from Java to the northwest coast. The cable was landed on the beach in February 1889 by the steamship Seine, at a place that has ever since been known as Cable Beach. A beach station was erected, completed by 3 March, and the cable was installed and tested. A section of cable was then run from the beach station across the peninsula to Broome Lot 99 where Cable House (Place no. 27)) had been erected for the staff of the E.E.T. Company. There the cable was linked to the overland telegraph line from Perth. The overland section of cable between Cable Beach and Cable House was placed inside a subterranean pipe. In 1901, the undersea cable to Broome became redundant when a new cable was laid from Durban to Adelaide. The cable to Broome carried little traffic for the next 13 years and was removed in March 1914. Broome remained linked to Perth and the rest of the world by the overland telegraph line. The beach station was still standing in the early 1920s when a police constable from Broome spent a week there to recuperate from fever.
Low degree
High degree
Unknown
Ref Number | Description |
---|---|
No.44 | MI Place No. |
Historic site
Epoch | General | Specific |
---|---|---|
Original Use | Transport\Communications | Comms: Housing or Quarters |
General | Specific |
---|---|
TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS | Telecommunications |
This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.