Armed with a trolley, fully-equipped with tea, coffee, chocolate, milk, hot water and biscuits, the tea lady would stop at your desk, pour your cuppa and possibly succumb to some kind of idle gossip.

In 1976, The Canberra Times' law reporter, Jack Waterford, wrote about a jury trial in the ACT Supreme Court that was held up for half an hour because the jury had no tea prepared for its members at the morning tea adjournment.

The problem was understood to have arisen after the court's tea lady resigned several months prior, and, in line with the government's economy drive, was not replaced, leaving morning tea arrangements to be made by other staff on an ad hoc basis.

However, this latest arrangement fell through leaving the jury members to make do with a jug of water and six paper cups.

Justice Connor was informed about 15 minutes later, when normally the trial would have resumed, and said he would not come down until after the jury had some tea.

See https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110812955