Trafalgar resident and historian, John Hanley, has published another book on the history of local telephone exchanges, this one recording the history of Childers and its postal and telephone exchange.
Titled Childers Gippsland: About the People, Postal and Telephone Services, this wonderful book is the fourth in the series by John on the local telephone and postal services in the area between Warragul and Moe.
As with his previous three books, it is really a detailed local history seen through the eyes of the post office and telephone exchange.
It is an account of a vital technology no longer in place, from someone who knew it well. No other local services are missed.
We find we have a record of the Mechanics’ Institute, the Village Settlement, the forest and milling operations, roads, schools, churches and more. Including the arrival of electricity in Childers.
However, the true joy is in the detailed accounts of each of the postmasters and postmistresses; nine men before the first woman, but she held the role for 19 years.
As did the next, also a woman.
In all, there were16 people from the community who kept the office open and a range of services available.
This is coupled with the epic work undertaken by John to track down and name so many people-not only the postmasters and postmistresses, but also all their assistants and all the mail contractors over those years.
All this is backed up with superb referencing of the sources of information, and the sort of index (professionally compiled) that is an exemplar for anyone thinking of completing their own.
The stories are complemented by many photographs, maps, telephone entries and a chronology.
The book is available at the Trafalgar Newsagency, Gippsland Food & Wine in Yarragon and Travellers Rest Thorpdale.
It is also directly from John via email trafpmg@gmail.com
Earlier books are held in local libraries and at Federation University, Gippsland Campus’s Gippsland and Regional Studies Collection (GRSC).
*Linda is a well-known and respected Gippsland historian
