The end of the ‘talking clock’ service was met with public dismay in September 2019. Delivered manually by Postmaster-General telephonists until the 1950s and then electronically via optical recordings on glass discs and finally digitally from the 1990s, the time-telling service was a mainstay of worldwide telecommunications offerings.

Read more about the Speaking Clock on our website at http://www.ncmuseum.org.au or visit the Speaking Clock in person when we open our redeveloped museum in late 2021!

Film, Speaking Clock, 1955, Australian Post Office, National Communications Museum collection 8819.