News
Media Release - 7 February, 2005
125 YEARS ON AND STILL CONNECTING AUSTRALIANS
Interesting News
Media items to download (all in zip format):
Directory History
Facts and Figures
The First Directory in Australia from 1880, with 44
listings (zipped file, size 2Mb)
Media files from Towns.
What was first produced in 1880, was made of one sheet of paper and contained 44 telephone numbers? The answer can be found in almost every Australian home and business - the White Pages® directory.
Sensis today unveiled a national travelling celebration to mark the 125th anniversary of the White Pages® directory and the 10th anniversary of the White Pages® OnLine site.
Literally, the vehicle for the celebrations is a specially designed and equipped White Pages 125th Anniversary Bus, which is taking a fun and informative education and seminar program on the road to primary schools and communities around Australia.
Sensis Chief Executive Officer Bruce Akhurst, said the bus tour was an exciting way to celebrate with the community and recognise the important role White Pages® continues to play in connecting Australians.
"White Pages® is one of the oldest Australian brands and is trusted by millions of people to provide information for them to connect with family and friends, businesses and governments," Mr Akhurst said.
On average, more than 9 million Australians use the White Pages® print directory each month and over 2.5 million unique users access www.whitepages.com.au each month .
Mr Akhurst said as well as attracting strong usage, both the White Pages® print directory and OnLine site continued to grow from a business perspective.
"For the 2003/04 financial year, the White Pages® achieved strong revenue growth, with the print directory’s revenue increasing by 14.5% and the online site’s increasing by an impressive 76%," Mr Akhurst said.
"One of the hallmarks of White Pages® and reasons for its longevity and growth is a strong
commitment to innovation and change.
"From a single page with 44 listings in 1880, the White Pages® directory today consists of six metropolitan directories and 49 regional directories, which are distributed to almost every household and business in Australia.
"Over the years, innovations to the directory have included lighter and more environmentally friendly paper and a best-practice directory recycling program to encourage people to dispose of their old directories thoughtfully.
"In 1995, we were also the first in the world to publish the White Pages® on the internet.
"Ten years on, the White Pages® OnLine site is one of the most popular ways for people to search and find information they need," he said.
In line with the company’s strong focus on developing new ways to provide information to the community, Mr Akhurst said the White Pages® 125th Anniversary Bus was a wonderful way to help develop innovation in the next generation.
"When we stopped to think of how to best celebrate our milestones, we thought what better way than to take an education program around the country to primarily benefit young Australians," Mr Akhurst said.
"Following on from last year’s White Pages® cover theme of ’Our Innovators’, our program with primary schools reinforces this year’s White Pages® cover theme of ’Young Australia – Shaping Our Future’," he said.
Visiting primary schools in 18 cities and towns across six states and territories, the White Pages® 125th Anniversary Bus features a satellite dish, a wireless computer network, tablet laptop computers and large plasma monitors.
At each stop, the equipment will be used to deliver an interactive hands-on lesson to primary school students about communication technologies and how to develop words and pictures for use on the internet.
"We’ve have had a fantastic response from the schools we will be visiting over the coming months and we’re really looking forward to meeting students in each town," Mr Akhurst said.
A unique feature of the tour is the White Pages® 125th Anniversary Bus website, which has been developed to enable the public to follow and interact with the bus as it makes its way around Australia.
Each location the bus will visit has a dedicated page on the site providing information on the local area as well as an opportunity for people to upload stories, pictures and comments to the website.
"By simply logging onto www.whitepages.com.au, all Australians can take part in the White Pages® 125th Anniversary celebrations by joining our tour virtually," Mr Akhurst said.
To follow the bus on the website, visit www.whitepages.com.au and click on the link to the 125th Anniversary Bus site.
-END-For further information and background material, please contact:
Stephen Ronchi
Senior Corporate Affairs Adviser
Sensis
Tel: 03 8653 7828
Mob: 0417 138 649
Em: stephen.ronchi@sensis.com.au
Media Files from Towns being visited
White Pages® 125 Anniversary Bus comes to Wollongong (Read the Media Release)
