If you were born after 1990 you probably won’t remember life without mobile phones and would possibly have no idea how soldiers communicated during the first or second World Wars.
Well, back in the olden days…
From Morse code to mobile phones, Speak Easy, is an exhibition at Tweed Regional Museum, that takes visitors on a journey through the remarkable evolution of communication technology.
The free exhibition brings together items from the Museum’s collection and beyond, revealing the ingenuity and imagination behind the tools that shaped the way we share information.
Speak Easy explores how humans have connected over time – from the first telegraphs to the wireless smartphones in our pockets. The exhibition also reveals the surprising, and sometimes strange, story of how our communication methods got to where they are today.
Museum Director Molly Green said the exhibition uncovers the stories behind the devices many of us once used – and may have forgotten.
‘Speak Easy is an interactive journey into the ways we communicate with each other and how these have changed significantly over the centuries—the exhibition illustrates just how vast this change has been in quite a short space of time,’ she said.
From vintage telegraphs and telephone exchanges to pedal-powered radios and spy-style codebreaking stations, the exhibition offers a hands-on, multi-generational experience.
Sort of sci-fi
Curator Kalindi Hopping said Speak Easy was inspired by some of the Museum’s most curious finds. ‘I kept coming across these massive, weird-looking gadgets,’ said Ms Hopping. ‘Like something out of a sci-fi movie from the past.
‘They seemed totally clunky and outdated, but back in the day they were considered high-tech heroes – saving lives, connecting people, and delivering the news in real time.’
Visitors can discover how wartime radar technology laid the foundations for modern weather forecasting and how pulses of light now travel across the ocean floor to keep us connected online.
The exhibition also features plenty of interactive experiences – from generating electricity with crank-powered machines to listening to personal stories through vintage handsets.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a curious child, or simply someone who remembers dial-up internet, Speak Easy offers something for everyone.
Speak Easy runs until November 22, at Tweed Regional Museum, Murwillumbah – entry is free.
For more information, visit: museum.tweed.nsw.gov.au.
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