Remembering the old red public telephones at the Show --> Royal Agricultural Society of NSW ADFEA8E89F1C278F2558834977B546B4 Skip to main content

Remembering the old red public telephones at the Show

Posted on 21 August 2023

In the 1970's I was employed by the PMG (now called Telstra) as a Technician and helped look after the old red public telephones located within the RAS Showground at Moore Park. There were approximately 10 telephones within this precinct. There was also a separate telephone exchange operating within the offices which took all incoming calls and this was managed by another Technician from the PMG.

The Technicians were all from the Darlinghurst Telephone Exchange, and I was called out on a roster system when one of the public telephones was reported out of order. This continued on until the RAS moved to the Sydney Olympic Park site at Homebush in 1998.

We used to come in via the side gate on Poate Road, used for exhibitors, and of course, we all liked to be called out (especially around meal times as we could then partake in a Dagwood Dog, or hot chips or something similar!) as it was an exciting place to visit.

ROSS CALKIN

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