An intriguing book on the history of Morse code, its arrival in Beechworth and the Beechworth Telegraph Station penned by a local history buff will be launched next week at the Beechworth Library.

Beechworth identity and long-time volunteer at the station Leo Nette, proficient in Morse code, started gathering information for his book ‘Beechworth’s Telegraph’ in 2005.

“I’d been in Beechworth for a few years and travelled to the Alice Springs Telegraph Station on a working holiday,” he said.

“My 'Morsecodian' colleagues had been running sessions from there and operating it as a real telegraph station again with connections to Darwin, Adelaide, Sydney and to me in Beechworth.”

Mr Nette when with his colleagues discovered the Colony of Victoria led the role in the early infancy of the telegraph with Beechworth playing a significant part in the Australian Telegraphic Communication’s early history.

Built in 1858, the Telegraph Station in the Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct also linked the town to the world in its days of telegraphic operation.

He said the telegraph station had some important and exciting roles, including attracting attention to Ned Kelly's exploits.

“The police used it constantly to keep Ned Kelly on the move, and eventually it led to his capture at Glenrowan," he said.

“There was a lot of excitement in the town in 1918 too with the 11 November armistice signed ending World War I.”

Mr Nette said his Morse code interest sparked as a 12-year-old at school when a teacher gave a demonstration and talk about Morse code.

“I joined the Postmaster General's (PG) department as a telegram boy when I was 14 years old that started my career as well as my start in learning Morse code," he said.

With a chance to be a Morse code operator soon after joining the PG, Mr Nette attended night school to qualify to attend a full-time 10-month training school.

“You had to be able to send and receive Morse code of around 10 words a minute to qualify,” Mr Nette said.

“I went out into post services as an operator until 1962 when Morse code finished.”

Mr Nette’s career in the postal service spanned from 1953 to 1970 in various Melbourne suburbs, then taking on postmaster roles with his last position in Malvern until 1983.

He said Malvern is a significant part of his book as it relates to former Beechworth Telegraph Station managers, their timeline and their careers.

“Interestingly about three of them ended up as postmaster at Malvern with others going to different stations where I'd worked earlier in my career as a Morse code operator as well,” Mr Nette said.

Mr Nette said he opened the Telegraph Station in April 2002 as a tourist attraction ready for Easter that year.

“But I've been a volunteer around the precinct since the courthouse opened in 1990,” he said.

Mr Nette also said he started volunteering soon after a move to Beechworth from Melbourne in 1982.

The author was a councillor for five years from 1987 to 1991, shire president from 1988 to 1989, and Beechworth Citizen of the Year in 1995.

Visit www.indigoshire.vic.gov.au/libraries for essential bookings for the free event on Thursday, 27 November from 6pm to 7pm.