Early telephone services in New Zealand

A youthful adopter of the new technology, c. 1914.

In the early 20th century, New Zealand’s telephone network was increasingly visible. Telephone exchange buildings festooned with wires and insulators were prominent in the larger towns, while rows of telephone poles advanced like triffids through city suburbs and into the countryside. The first public telephones (‘2d in slot’) were installed in the main centres in 1910.