Item 9257

Item 9257 is a collection of 15 black and white photographs contained in a brown 269mm x 190mm “COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA – POSTMASTER-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT” with “O.H.M.S.” shown in the top left corner.

The envelope was addressed to “Glen Landells, Moorooka CAX, Jno Yallations photographs”

A hand written comment in biro on the front says “Submarine Cable Ship – ‘Recorder’ Photos 1961”.

The Neg No’s 3105 series on the back of the photos are shown on the stamp “P.M.G.’s Department, Engineering Division, Brisbane. Drafting Section Photograph”

A hand written note on pale yellow paper, included with the photographs in the envelope reads:-

Cable Ship – “Recorder” Brisbane. July 1961.

Surveying for proposed Telephone cable route – Aust – New Guinea – Japan or Hong Kong.

It is possible this work was for the new SEACOM submarine cable that would connect to the Brisbane to Cairns SEACOM Microwave Link at Cairns.

NOTE:-

Extract from by CS Recorder (3)
by Bill Glover & Barry Waterhouse

History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

“CS RECORDER (3) Built in 1954 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Length 340 ft 5 in.  (103.78m)

Breadth 45 ft 2in.  (13.71m)

Depth 18 ft 6 in       (5.64m)

Gross tonnage 3430 (3485T)

CS Recorder (3) was used by Cable & Wireless Ltd. for cable repair work, eventually replacing Stanley Angwin at Singapore. There CS Recorder (3) was responsible for repair work, covering an area from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Vancouver, Canada.

Fitted with three cable tanks capable of holding 21,000 cubic feet of cable. Combined picking up/paying out machinery supplied by Johnson & Phillips. Three 3ft 6in bow sheaves fitted but no stem sheave.

Scrapped at the end of 1985 when replaced by CS Retriever (5).

CABLE WORK