''Overland Telegraph'' is a 1955 Australian book by

Frank Clune Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, (27 November 189311 March 1971) was a best-selling Australian writer, travel writer and popular historian. Early life and career Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Re ...

about the construction of the

Overland Telegraph The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...

. It is one of Clune's best known works. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' called it "one of Mr Clune's best books" although he felt "the actual building of the O.T. becomes rather tedious in print and he must have realised it when he got into his book." ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' called it "one of Clune's better books". '' The Bulletin'' said the book was "so closely fastened to a piece of our essential folklore that one cannot but welcome it, cannot but recommend it—and cannot but wish it were infinitely better."

Background

In 1939 it was announced Clune had written a script called ''Overland Telegraph'' which he had sold to

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union, Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film proc ...

. The story focused on Sir Charles Todd and his team who had to construct the telegraph. It was to be "Australia's first epic film". However Cinesound soon stopped feature filmmaking due to the war and no movie resulted. Clune later turned the material into a book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overland Telegraph Australian non-fiction books 1955 non-fiction books Angus & Robertson books Books by Frank Clune