Telephonists exchange location

By LCDR Mick Gallagher/LCDR Mike Downes

Isabel Naylor (left) and Margaret Considine say farewell to the Garden Island exchange.

The telephonists at Garden Island Sydney’s Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) took their last call mid-October and moved to Defence Plaza in Pitt St.

Leaving behind many years of memories on “the island” were Margaret Considine of Potts Point and Isabel Naylor of Campsie.

They were both driven to their new premises by HMAS Kuttabul XO’s Assistant ABBM Deon Adams, and escorted by LCDR Mike Downes (Defence Voice Manager NSW) and Peter Hackett (Base Services).

In 1968, Margaret, who was a PMG employee at the time, walked on to GI and started answering the phone on behalf of the RAN – 35 years ago.

At that time there were 11 operators on the switchboard using a paper based directory.

In 1978 Isabel Naylor joined the team.

Together they have seen many changes such as the creation of Telstra, three telephone systems, and the new electronic National Defence Telephone Directory, NDTD.

“We were around when the page three girl was a feature of Navy News,” said Margaret whose father was in the Australian Light Horse in WW1 and her brother a National Serviceman in the 1950’s.

“We now have a room with a view,” said Isabel when she arrived at her new offices on level 18 at Defence Plaza.
Isabel’s father worked at GI during WW2. She also had two brothers in the RAAF and two in the Army during those war years.

There to greet them was Isabel’s granddaughter Kristy Naylor and her fellow operators Coral Woodham, Jacqualine Carroll and Fred Pomroy.

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