How Tamworth became the first Australian city with electric street lights

Updated

The first city in Australia to use street lights powered by a municipal electricity company wasn't Sydney or Melbourne — it was Tamworth. And it all unfolded in a very Aussie kind of way.

To hear more from Professor Genevieve Bell on what it means to be human, and Australian, in a digital world, subscribe to the Boyer Lectures podcast.

You might also enjoy our comics on the origin stories of the typewriter and the robot.

Editor's note: In her Boyer Lectures, Professor Bell acknowledges that the first street in Australia to have electrical lighting was Waratah in western Tasmania in 1886. This comic focuses on Tamworth's milestone, being the first place in Australia to implement electric street lights powered by a municipal power company.

Credits

Words: Professor Genevieve Bell and Eleri Mai Harris

Professor Genevieve Bell and Eleri Mai Harris Illustrations: Eleri Mai Harris

Eleri Mai Harris Production: Tegan Osborne

Tegan Osborne Editor: Scott Spark

Topics: energy, science-and-technology, history, australia, tamworth-2340

First posted