Book

Rottnest Island, 19 kilometres off Western Australia's coast near Fremantle, is one of the State's premier holiday resorts. This book traces the development of communication with Rottnest, from the State's first settlement in 1829, to its sesquicentenary in 1979. Types of communication fall neatly into two areas - the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Flag, fire, boat and heliograph sufficed until the end of the nineteenth century. A tragic shipwreck then forced the authorities to lay a submarine telephone cable to the island early in 1900. Since that time many unusual happenings have taken place, resulting in today's modern telecommunications system linking the island with the world at large. This authoritative work is an invaluable reference on many previously unexplored aspects of Rottnest's history.