Samuel Walker McGowan (born 4 January 1829 in
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
- died 18 April 1887
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
) was a scientist and public servant who oversaw the creation of the first
electrical telegraph
Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...
line in the
Southern Hemisphere.
That first telegraph line in Australia ran from Melbourne to
Williamstown.
Legacy
In 1872
Mount McGowanwas named by
Charles Todd after his Victorian counterpart, while surveying the
Overland Telegraph Line
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...
. After his untimely passing in 1887, his former staff commissioned a stained glass window in his parish church, the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Balaclava with plaque inscribed "In memory of Samuel Walker McGowan, Deputy Postmaster General of Victoria, one of the vestry of this parish . . .
In 1982, McGowan Place, Dickson, Canberra was named in his memory
See also
*
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...
Further reading
* Wikibooks contributors. ''History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia, Biographies, Samuel Walker McGowan'' (Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project
* Wikibooks contributors. ''History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia, Biographies, William Philip Bechervaise'' (Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Samuel
1829 births
1887 deaths
Public servants of Victoria (Australia)