Timeline

1796
The First Electric Battery

Alessandro Volta built the world's first electric battery at the University of Pavia, Italy.

1802
First Human Produced Electric Light

Humphry Davy produced electric light from a carbon arc during his electrolysis experiments at the Royal Institute, Great Britain. He later demonstrated more refined models to the public at the Royal Society.

1819
Link Between Electricity and Magnetism Established

Hans Christian Öersted discovered the link between electricity and magnetism at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

1831
Principle Of Electromagnetic Induction Discovered

Michael Faraday, Director of the Laboratory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction.

Australian Agricultural Company Looking For A Site

Henry Dangar, Assistant surveyor to explorer John Oxley, visited the Peel Valley looking for a site for the Australian Agricultural Company.

1837
Tamworth On The Map

Tamworth first appeared on Western maps.

First Electric Telegraph

The world’s first electric telegraph commenced operation between Euston station and Camden Town, on the London and Birmingham Railway.

1850
Tamworth Becomes A Town

Tamworth was gazetted as a town. Population East of the river is counted as 250.

1861
Electric Telegraph Comes To Tamworth

Tamworth linked to the Eastern colonies via the Electric Telegraph

The population of the town is 654.

1865
Tamworth gets a Post Office

Tamworth’s first Post Office completed.

1872
Tamworth Connected to the International Telegraph Network

22nd of October Tamworth connected to the International Telegraph Network via Australia`s Overland Telegraph (Adelaide to Darwin).

1876
Tamworth Proclaimed a Borough

17th March, Government Gazette No 85, Tamworth was proclaimed as a Borough. Population is 3000.

First Oil Street Light in Tamworth

19th August, the first street light, an oil lamp, erected outside the Tamworth Post Office

1877
World’s First Electric Street Lights - Paris

The world`s first electric street lighting – the Avenue de l'Opera, Paris, where Russian engineer, Paul Jablochkoff installed 16 “electric candles”. (A form of carbon arc light). Two oil lamps erected on the Peel River Bridge.

More Oil Lamps in Tamworth

Two oil lamps erected on the Peel River Bridge.

1878
First Incandescent Light Bulb

18th December, at Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, Joseph Swan invented the world’s first successful incandescent light bulb – a carbon filament vacuum lamp.

First Train To Tamworth

15th October, the first railway train arrived at West Tamworth.

1879
Carbon-Thread Incandescent Light Bulb

1879 Thomas Edison and Joseph Wilson Swan patent the carbon-thread incandescent lamp. It lasted 40 hours. The next year Edison produced a 16-watt lightbulb that lasted 1500 hours.

1881
First International Exposition of Electricity

15th August – 15th November first International Exposition of Electricity Paris. Palais de l’Industrie, champs-Elysees.

First Electric Street Lights In UK

26th September, first electric street lighting (arc lights) in England at Godalming, Surrey.

1882
Gas Street Lights Introduced to Tamworth

In June, the Tamworth Gas and Coke Company commenced supplying 25 gas street lights under contract to the Tamworth Borough Council.
Mayor E.C.Hunt, Ald. W.J.Smith, and George Hooke of the Tamworth Observer advocated the merits of electric street lighting the year before, but the majority of aldermen felt safer with the well-known gas system.

New York Adopts Electric Street Lighting

4th September 1882, Edison’s central power station commenced at 257 Pearl Street, NY supplying 59 households with 400 lamps.

1888
Tamworth Has Australia's First Municipal Electric Street Lights

Tamworth established the first Municipal electric street lighting system in Australia. It commenced operation on the 9th November 1888.
On the 18th January, Mayor William Frederick Tribe had signed a contract with Messrs Harrison and Whiffen, of Sydney, representing R.E.Crompton& Co. of Chelmsford, England, for an electric light plant.

1889
Tamworth’s First Electrical Engineer

12th November, Orlando William Brain commenced as Tamworth’s first electrical engineer. (Trained by Crompton).

Population about 4,000.

1900
Tamworth Telephone Exchange

19th February, Tamworth telephone exchange opened with 34 subscribers.

1904
Sydney Catches Up

8th July, Sydney introduces electric street lighting.

1907
Tamworth’s Homes And Business Get Electricity

Electricity supply is extended to homes and businesses and the Power Station is extended.

Supplying Electricity To North West NSW

Before it was connected to the State Grid in 1958, Tamworth’s Marius Street powerstation supplied electricity across the North West of NSW – to Manilla (from 1927), Nemingha, Kootingal (from 1930), Quirindi (from 1941), Dungowan, Woolomin, Nundle (from 1945) Barraba, Gunnedah, Boggabri, Narrabri (from 1947), Murrurundi (1948) Inverell (from 1950), Armidale (from 1951), Moree (from 1952) and Stanborough and Bellata (from 1954).

1946
Tamworth Proclaimed a City

The population of Tamworth in the 1947 census was 12,071 persons (there is no data for 1946).

1988
Opening of the Tamworth Powerstation Museum

9th November, Centenary of Municipal Electric Street Lighting in Australia at Tamworth and opening of the Tamworth Powerstation Museum