Forrest and his party safely crossed the entire extent of Western Australia, and entering South Australia struck the overland telegraph line at Peake station, and, after resting, journeyed south to Adelaide.
After resting in Perth for a short time, he commenced the return journey, which was made for the most part between the 24th and 25th parallels, and again successfully traversed the desert, reaching the overland telegraph line in about seven months.
The cable and telegraph line from Otranto, in Italy, to Constantinople, has an important station here.
As it uses the Baudot telegraph alphabet it has an advantage in theory over the Wheatstone using the Morse alphabet in regard to the speed that can be obtained on a long telegraph line in the ratio of eight to five, and this theoretical advantage is more or less realized in practice.
The first telegraph line in Natal was opened in 1873; in 1878 communication was established with Cape Town and in the following year with Delagoa Bay.