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The Overland Telegraph Line was opened for traffic between Adelaide and Tennant Creek in December 1871. This settlement was to be the meeting point of the northern and central sections of the line. But in the north, progress was brought to a stop as heavy monsoonal rains turned the country into a swamp. The Northern section had not been easy and there had been a long delay when the line contractors were dismissed five months earlier, until the replacement government crews were installed.

So there was still a gap of 394 miles between the other end of the line at Daly Waters, when the Overland Telegraph Line contract expired. The submarine cable had arrived at Port Darwin on schedule and the company began to press for compensation payments since the line was not complete.

Ever resourceful, Charles Todd rallied his men and searched the countryside for spare horses and put together a 'pony express' to relay messages between operators at either end.

The company still demanded compensation in June 1872, by which time Todd had 300 men toiling to bridge the gap. They made good progress in spite of having to clear much of the route through thick mulga scrub.

Then the submarine cable failed and all demands ceased. Todd made good use of this opportunity and the line was finally joined near Frews Pond on August 22, 1872.

A temporary telegraph office comprising a three roomed wooden hut was built at Tennant Creek and used for three years while a decision was made on whether to build the permanent office at Attack Creek, about 35 miles north. It was here that hostile Warumungu tribesmen had forced the retreat of explorer John McDouall Stuart's first expedition in 1860 and caused some concern again for the construction party's surveying team. Finally in 1874, Tennant Creek became the permanent site.

The station, about 6 miles from the present day town of Tennant Creek was closed down in 1979 and is now a museum.

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