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Interviews recorded at the Wellington Telephone Exchange to mark its centennial year.
An unidentified male interviewer (possibly Phillip Liner) talks to (manager?) Lindsay Lorimer about the changes he has noticed in the exchange. He explains cords are o longer used, as the exchange is 'push-button" and talks about the role of microwave technology. He says operators had to be much more 'hands-on' in the past whereas now operation is all 'push-button'. He forecasts there will be no operators at all in the future.
Staff member Cliff Matthews talks about his experience as an operator and the changes in working conditions - the exchange is now much quieter than in the past. He also forecasts the end of the need for operators with greater computerisation. The Wellington Toll Exchange also handles radio telephone calls to and from the Chatham Islands and Antarctica and also ships at sea and offshore islands.
[instrumental music break]
A woman (possibly either Rewa O'Neil or Anne Weatherly?), who began working in the Wellington exchange as a supervisor in 1950, talks about the excitement of making calls to the other side of the world. She remembers in those days calls from Wellington to Tawa, Porirua or Eastbourne were all toll calls. Calls to London went via Sydney. She remembers the first ever call between Moscow and New Zealand. She says in the late 1950s it was very difficult to get staff and the exchange night shift was staffed by bank officers and school teachers 'moonlighting' in a second job as toll operators.
Operators often became friends with other operators and many marraiges resulted.
She talks about the need for toll operators to always remain calm and in the past there could be delays of two and half hours in putting a call through. She says the time of the Tangiwai disaster there were delays of several days in putting calls through because of high demand. There are just on 200 staff in Wellington, with half on duty during the day.
She explains how "111" emergency calls are handled - fictitious calls can now be traced, which is a new development.
Cliff Mathews talks about the great shortage of staff at one time. He tells a story about the Bishop of Wellington waiting many weeks to place a call to london int he 1920s.
Includes song "The Busy Line", sung by Rose Murphy (removed from online audio due to copyright restrictions.)