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Story summary
- Heritage authorities listed Narooma’s public payphone after it handled nearly 1,000 calls during the 2019-20 black-summer bushfires.
- Historian Naomi Parry Duncan led the nomination that secured the payphone’s heritage status.
- During the fires, residents and tourists queued at three town payphones to reach loved ones.
- Telstra must maintain 14,000 Australian payphones, reporting 25 million calls last year, including 300,000 emergency calls.