Marconi calling
The monument at Poldhu
The monument on a headland near Poldhu beach commemorates the transmission of the first transatlantic radio signal in December 2001.
The famous experiment
At that time, many scientists believed the curvature of the earth would prevent wireless waves from spanning the Atlantic because wireless waves, like light rays, travel in straight lines. Guglielmo Marconi set out to show that the experts were wrong. He risked a large amount of money to do so.
Marconi's team set up large aerial masts at Poldhu but they were blown down in a storm in September 1901. Marconi did not give up but set up a temporary aerial.
He decided to try to transmit a signal across the Atlantic to the nearest landfall on the American continent. This was Newfoundland. On December 11, at the first attempt, Marconi picked up a weak signal transmitted from Poldhu.
Later developments at Poldhu
From 1924 to 1932, the Marconi Company used Poldhu as a short wave development site. The Poldhu station closed in 1933. In 1937 the site was cleared and given to the National Trust. That was when the monument was put up to mark the significance of the site.
Poldhu today
Now there is a modern Marconi Centre at the site of the Poldhu station.
The Centre is home to an exhibition about Marconi with the history of Poldhu and communications in Cornwall.
The Centre is also the base for the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 12 August 2003
