Cape York Telephone Carrier Station

Radar/signal station
North and Cape York

Cable Bay, Cape York 4870

Cape York Telephone Carrier Station was erected in late 1942 to a standard government design, comprising a light steel frame, ripple-iron walls and fibrocement roof. Communication improvements included the laying of a new undersea cable from Peak Point, Cable Bay, to Thursday Island and upgrading of the telephone and telegraphic capacity of the existing line from Townsville to Cape York.

History

Plans to upgrade telecommunications on Cape York began in 1941, several months before the outbreak of war with Japan. Provision of a three-channel carrier system and voice frequency repeaters was proposed, with terminals at Cape York and Townsville. Work was undertaken by US and Australian Army Signals Engineers and Postmaster General’s Department staff between August and November 1942. New lines were linked through the cable station to New Guinea. The Cape York Telephone Carrier Station closed in 1953 after failure of the Thursday Island cable, which was subsequently replaced by a radio telephone link. The metal frame of the building still stands.

Source/comments

Pearce, Howard (contributing author).

Howard Pearce (Ed.). Heritage Trails of the Tropical North: A heritage tour guide to far north Queensland, Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, 2001.

Howard Pearce. WWII: NQ: A cultural heritage overview of significant places in the defence of north Queensland during World War II. Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, 2009.