Overland Telegraph is a telegraph line that runs across the entire continent of Australia. It stretches about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) long. The Overland Telegraph runs north and south, from Darwin to Adelaide.
Before the Overland Telegraph, Australians got news from overseas by messages carried on ships, which took months. The telegraph connected other parts of Australia to Darwin, which was then known as Palmerston. Palmerston was in the process of being connected to a worldwide telegraph system through underwater cables. Despite harsh terrain and periods of heavy rains and flooding, the Overland Telegraph took only two years to build. It was completed in 1872.
