The Alice Springs Telegraph Station was one of 11 staffed repeater stations on the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL). This line consisted of a single strand of iron wire on 36000 timber poles, stretching 3000km across Australia, from Adelaide to Port Darwin. From Port Darwin a submarine cable beneath the sea to Singapore connected Australia to the rest of the world.

News from Britain which prior to 1872 had taken 3 months to reach Australia by sea, now arrived within a few hours.