Edward Charles Cracknell (1831 – 14 January 1893) was an electrical engineer, Superintendent of Electric Telegraphs, New South Wales, and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the Submarine Miners of the New South Wales Militia. He is considered Australia's third telegraph pioneer, after S. W. McGowan of Victoria and Charles Todd in South Australia.

History

Cracknell was born in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...

, England, and educated at Oxford. In November 1855 he left for

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in company with (later Sir) Charles Todd, head of the South Australian Post and Telegraph Department, having been selected by Todd as his assistant and future successor. They both came out to South Australia aboard the ''Irene'', and promptly set about installing the line from Adelaide to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

and

The Semaphore Semaphore is a northwestern suburb of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located on the Gulf St Vincent coastline of the Lefevre Peninsula about from the Adelaide city centre. History Semaphore was first surveyed for ...

, replacing a less permanent privately operated line financed and constructed by

James MacGeorge James Macgeorge (1832 – 9 December 1918) was a Scottish-born architect in South Australia. He is remembered for erecting South Australia's first telegraph line. History James Macgeorge was born in Scotland, the fifth son of tailor Robert Fors ...

. Around the end of 1857, he was appointed assistant to

Ben Hay Martindale Ben Hay Martindale C.B. (1 October 1824 – 26 May 1904) was a British public servant who acted in several managerial positions in the young colony of New South Wales, where he was known as "Captain Martindale". History Martindale was born in Lon ...

("Captain Martindale"), Superintendent of Telegraphs in New South Wales, and on 26 January 1858 opened the telegraph line from Sydney to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, a distance of . This was the third line opened by the Telegraphic Department, the first being between Sydney and Parramatta, and the second Sydney with South Head. Cracknell succeeded Captain Martindale as Superintendent in 1861, with P. B. Walker as assistant. In 1880 he represented New South Wales at the Berlin Postal Conference. He was a strong advocate for the illumination of Sydney by electric light.

Military

Cracknell was interested in military science, and prominent in promoting the shore defence of Sydney Harbour by means of

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

. In April 1874 he was commissioned lieutenant in the Torpedo Corps of the Naval Brigade, which in 1877 became the Submarine Miners Corps of the NSW Military Forces, and was promoted to the rank of major. On 6 April 1886 he was gazetted lieutenant colonel commanding. He prepared "torpedo" defences at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...

Death

Cracknell died after a heart attack, and was accorded a full military funeral before burial at

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

. P. B. Walker succeeded him, as Engineer-in-Chief of Telegraphs.

Family

Cracknell married Margaret Cunningham in Rochester c. 1853; they had three surviving daughters and one son: *Ada Sophia Cracknell (27 September 1856 in North Adelaide – ) married Ernest Collingwood Colquhoun on 28 August 1885 *Edward William Cracknell (born 26 November 1858 – 15 December 1931) was architect and engineer remembered for advocating alternative route for South Gippsland railway line. *Eva Florence Cracknell (29 April 1861 – ) married A. C. F. Webb on 23 November 1892 *Alice Ellen Cracknell (c. 1872 – 13 April 1891) They had a home "Richmond" on Edgecliffe Road, Sydney His brother William John Cracknell (died 1 December 1898) was for many years Superintendent of Telegraphs in Queensland.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cracknell, Edward Charles 1831 births 1893 deaths People from Rochester, Kent English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian public servants