was, 55 years ago, the headline on a story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of January 25th 1961.

The story opens:

An ICT 1202 electronic computer is being installed by the Southern Rhodesia Treasury Department in Salisbury.

Originally intended for the job of processing the Government’s 15,000 payroll, it is also to be used for the 1961 census, and for calculating income tax returns.

The 1202 is a £50,000 machine, and is on hire at about £850 a month.

Believed to be the first computer installation in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, it is expected to be in operation by mid-February.