Ladies of the Exchange Mural
The Story Behind This Mural
In 1882 the first country telephone exchange in Australia was opened in Maryborough on the upper floor of the Post Office with 32 subscribers. The Postmaster General’s Department took over the Exchanges in 1901 following Federation.
This mural shows telephonists working the manual exchange in the Post Office in 1958. The ladies are (from left to right): Lorraine Bell (Todd), Shirley Dopson, Merlyn Biggs (Pollitt), Judy Oliver (Gadd), Mary Hyne (Fredricksen), Margaret Byrne (Moller), Gloria Knowles, Val England (English), Judy Tudman (Lavaring), Flora Ross, Tess Cole (Marks), Laurel Walker (Barker) and Isobel Corvesor.
In 1975 Telecom Australia was formed and subsequently the Postmaster General’s Department became known as Telstra. This mural has been placed on the current Telstra exchange building, which has been home to the automatic telephone services since 1960.
About the Artist
Michael Wortel is the artist who paid tribute to The Ladies of the Exchange of 1958. Michael has an interest in all artistic media. Michael completed his signwriting apprenticeship in Maryborough with Telecom Australia. He now has a local signwriting business called Wide Bay Signs.
Contributors to this Mural
The Maryborough Mural Project relies entirely on the generosity of volunteers and sponsors from our local community. The artist’s commission for this mural was generously sponsored by Telstra Countrywide. The photo used by the artist is Image No. (BP 273) and was provided courtesy of the Maryborough Wide Bay & Burnett Historical Society Inc. The Committee would like to thank Mrs Tracey Christoffel, Ms Tracey Gray, Mr Rai Whitten, and Mr Geoff Negus for their time and expertise in coordinating this mural. We would also like to thank the following businesses for their kind sponsorship of the mural.
Our featured sponsor is Earles Paint Place, Maryborough who have generously supported the Maryborough Mural Project since it’s inception and who have provided most of the paint and paint supplies needed to complete our murals. Without their generous and passionate support of the Project we would not have been able to achieve what we have to date. Earles continue to support and sponsor the project as a major contributor in helping to revitalise Maryborough through Art.