{"id":7026596,"date":"2026-08-04T09:42:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/agriculture\/life-line-for-life-on-the-land\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:42:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:42:29","slug":"life-line-for-life-on-the-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7026596","title":{"rendered":"Life line for life on the land"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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Two regional phone boxes have been nominated for Heritage listings, honouring the important roles they\u2019ve played in rural communities.<\/p>\n

Public phones provide a crucial connection to the outside world.<\/p>\n

Two small towns in New South Wales and Queensland are now waiting for a call \u2013 to see if their public phones will become a nationally-recognised icon. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Public phones are vital in natural disasters. Image: Telstra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Doomadgee dial<\/h2>\n

More than 1000 kilometres from the nearest major city, Doomadgee is about as remote as it gets.<\/p>\n

The Far North Queensland town is very fond of their public phone on Goodeedawa Road.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, the phone box has facilitated around 1400 calls \u2013 roughly one for every person in town.<\/p>\n

The phone box isn\u2019t just well-loved, it\u2019s well made too. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been built to withstand the extremes of the wet and dry seasons, when the internal phone booth temperature can swelter near 60\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Providing connection in remote Australia: The Doomadgee public phone. Image: Telstra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Narooma in natural disaster<\/h2>\n

The coastal New South Wales town of Narooma was battered by the brutal bushfires of 2020.<\/p>\n

The public phone on the Princess Highway became a makeshift community hub, as power and mobile signal dropped in and out.<\/p>\n

Over a two-month period, nearly 1000 outgoing calls were made from the phone box.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
The line for the Narooma public phone during the 2020 bushfires. Image: Telstra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Locals queued for long periods, desperate to share with their loved ones they were safe.<\/p>\n

Historian Dr Naomi Parry Duncan was on the South Coast when the bushfires hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no mobile coverage, or power, or internet, or ways to get cash or coins,\u201d Dr Duncan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we heard Telstra had made the payphones free, people queued for hours to contact the outside world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dr Naomi Parry Duncan has a personal connection to public phones. Image: Telstra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr Duncan is now writing the heritage listing submissions for consideration by the National Trust of Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelstra public phones remain a critical means of connection across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in the age of the smartphone, the iconic silhouette stands as a beacon of connection \u2013 often for those most in need,\u201d Dr Duncan said.<\/p>\n

Story search<\/h2>\n

Telstra is encouraging Aussies to give them a buzz and share their phone box stories.<\/p>\n

You can call 1800 007 403, dial #STORY from any Telstra public phone, or visit here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Flooding in Cairns surrounding the public phone. Image: Telstra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two regional phone boxes have been nominated for Heritage listings, honouring the important roles they\u2019ve played in rural communities. Public phones provide a crucial connection to the outside world. Two small towns in New South Wales and Queensland are now waiting for a call \u2013 to see if their public phones will become a nationally-recognised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7026597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12026],"tags":[4132,3333,4827],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7026596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-land","tag-life","tag-line"],"yoast_head":"\nLife line for life on the land - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7026596\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life line for life on the land - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two regional phone boxes have been nominated for Heritage listings, honouring the important roles they\u2019ve played in rural communities. 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