| Name | GOLD PHONE |
| Date | 1983-2006 |
| Manufacturer | Assembled by Alcatel/STC in Alexandria using coin mechanisms supplied by Anritsu. Designed by industrial designer Paul Schremmer. |
| Usage | Supervised |
| Notes | See below |
| Further notes |
| The Telstra Gold Phone Ultra Rare is a vintage coin operated public telephone, designed by renowned industrial designer Paul Schremmer. Used widely in Australia in the 1980s, it represents a significant moment in the country’s telecommunications history. |
| Gold Phone Introduced in 1983, the Gold Phone was the first Telstra-issued public telephone available for private purchase. Assembled by Alcatel/STC in Alexandria using coin mechanisms supplied by Anritsu, these phones featured: -A lockable upper housing for access to the electronics and coin works -A small LCD display showing remaining credit -Optional pulse or tone dialling (with most examples set to pulse) -Optional metal plating over the coin box for enhanced security |
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| Above- Design model for ‘Gold phone’ coin operated public telephone or pay phone Powerhouse Museum Object No. 2014/22/1 This object represents the design and manufacturing process for a product that had widespread use in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. It records the point in the process where the client agreed on the final design. Hand-made by the design team, this object represents the traditional design approach of hand sketching and model-making. A labour intensive process requiring many sketches on paper followed by a hand-made model it is typical of how designers would represent and communicate their ideas in the twentieth century. By the time of acquisition these methods were being replaced by faster and more efficient digital design, visualisation and manufacturing tools. Designed and made by a prominent Australian industrial designer, this was probably one of Paul Schremmer’s most well known designs. The Gold Phone was widely used in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s and phased out in 2006. Together with the final production version this object represents a unique time in the development of telecommunications technology in Australia. https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/475609 |
| Below- images of the original hand-made prototypes. |
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Pay phone Story 
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