Telephones were to come in technicolour, reported The Canberra Times 59 years ago. Telephone subscribers had an option to choose one of six colours for their telephone receivers. The colours of choice were light ivory, mist grey, fern green, topaz yellow, lacquer red and standard black. The Postmaster-general, Mr Davidson, said production of the new telephones would be available from August 1962. An additional fee of two pounds would be charged for the new handsets. Black telephones would be changed for the new colours for a fee of four pounds. Mr. Davidson said the fee was charged only for installation and there would be no addition to normal rentals. The new handsets were more modern in shape and would be lightweight with coiled cords and other features. They would also have automatic volume control, which would provide an even volume of speech regardless of the distance between the subscribers' premises and exchange. A photo shows the changes in telephone handsets, pre 1961.