Amazing Inventions in our life times.

[user 4386]

I often marvelled at my grandparents lives and the pace of change that they saw during their lifetime not only with inventions but a changing world.
Two world wars
The Great Depression
The first flight
Space travel and landing on the moon
Communications improvements and Internet
Medical advances, heart transplants
Television
The list just goes on and on

What amazes me more is that I knew one of my great grandfathers, both of whom were born in the 1860s. One was on Nelson's "Victory", and later the "Cerberus" (Britain's first iron battleship, modelled on the ironclads of the American civil war, now sunk as a breakwater off Melbourne). The Ballarat West goldfield had not yet been discovered - nor Kalgoorlie - nor the Rand in South Africa. Queen Victoria still had nearly 40 years of reign to go. No planes, refrigerators, radios - just the Coolgardie safe, sextants and semaphore.....

We are horrified by ISIS beheadings, but the French were still using Madame Guillotine until 1981 (last execution 1977) - royalty would put the heads on display to warn the public to keep in line....we were more civilised, having given up the rack in the 17th Century and stopping g hangings when I was a teenager. Civilization is recent and skin deep.

 

[user 5263]

Hi Jaros,

Good old PMG. I remember visiting a Telephone office (somewhere in the Hunter Valley cannot remember where) with a manual Pyramid Board. This was strangely enough to be a precursor to the crossbar switch which came after the step-by-step exchange.

 

[Jaros]

The old PMG was a great organisation. It was great to work for. I worked thru them all PMG, Telecom, Telstra. As it self destructed thru it's stages of growth staff were looking over their shoulders and it very quickly became a disgrace to work for as times to install , repair and maintain became longer and longer. Now it can be 2-3 weeks to install a new service. Back the we could have it done in 2-3 days. Repair work just as quick 2-3 days if not same day.
It reached the point where I was ashamed to say I worked for Telstra..... :awful:

 

[user 5263]

I only lasted to Telecom Australia, then another calling. I look back and I think one of the best jobs I ever had was O.I.C. Manual Assistance Hamilton #. About 160 telephonists. It was a new beaut auto system including some overseas stuff. The old exchange was (as you noted) chord boards at Newcastle Post Office. Didn't last long with STD being rapidly introduced. When I moved to Gloucester NSW in 1980 it was still a manual exchange. Not long ago but boy the changes since then.

 

[Jaros]

With all the different technologies we worked with and the endless training we did over the years we were told just before I left that we actually qualified to have Associated Diplomas in Communications. Don't know if anyone followed it through-I had had enough by then. :clap:

 

[Goldfreak]

I need to get a dog just so I have an excuse to buy this