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Powell Creek marks the site of the pass used by the Overland Telegraph Line to cross the Ashburton Range. But it is also the closest southern station on the line to Frews Pond, where the line was finally joined on August 22, 1872.

Engineer Robert Patterson had intended making the join where the two construction parties were to physically meet. But ill and unable to travel far, Patterson who was determined to take the glory of joining for himself alone, certainly not Charles Todd, had cut the line at Frews Pond, so he could undertake the ceremony there.

Patterson took hold of one end of the wire and a team of his men took the other end. For all their efforts, they couldn't pull the ends together since when Patterson had cut the line, the strain of the wire had torn the strands apart.

In a final, farcical but dangerous moment, Patterson tried joining them himself, the current flowing not only down the line, but through him as well. He yelled loudly and proceeded some time later, with more care. Finally the join was made.

If Patterson thought the honour was his, everyone else knew it was Todd's. 650 kms away, Charles Todd tapped into the line at Central Mount Stuart and fittingly received messages of congratulations from Adelaide, the rest of Australia and the world. Powell Creek is the site of one of the eleven repeater stations on the line. They were necessary because the electrical current that carried the telegraphic signals could only travel a maximum of 300 kms along the iron conducting wire before they began to fade.

So a chain of repeater stations was built to keep the messages moving. The repeaters were built along the line at an average 250 kms apart and at each station, the stationmaster received the message, relaying it on to the next station.

Powell Creek's station consisted of; one room for the telegraph office, five rooms for the use of the stationmaster, one room for his assistant, six rooms for storeroom, kitchen and mens' quarters, plus several sheds, a 300 acre paddock, one small stock yard, one small sheep yard, two 100 gallon iron tanks and one well of good water.

In 1874 a Government reserve of twenty five square miles was secured around many of the repeater stations, including Powell Creek.