The end of an era - The Talking Clock falls silent after 65 years

Midnight on September 30th represented an important point in the history of Australian telecommunications, as the talking clock fell silent, sounding its last ever stroke.

Source: Getty images

The automatic speaking clock has a long history, Paris the very first one to establish this service in 1933. Up until 1936, Britain had used a live operator to tell people the time from the telephone exchange clock if they rang up and asked.   It's hard to believe now, but in Australia prior to 1954 a Post Office telephone operator would spend part of her shift sitting in front of a microphone telling the time again... and again... and again.   It was probably one of the most tedious jobs of the century.