Time capsule ‘Telstra Ten' prepare to step back in time in iconic moment

7NEWS

30-06-2025

A doctor, a police officer and an air hostess walk into a party.
It sounds like the beginnings of a joke, however, it is instead the penultimate chapter of a pretty incredible story.
These are just three members of the group who've become known as the Telstra Ten or Time Capsule Ten.
And yes, while it's expensive to be a Telstra customer at the moment, hopefully this story still brightens your day.
All ten were brought back together for a reunion earlier this month, and 7NEWS was there for the first time the group had all seen each other in 40 years.
Jess, Michelle, Vicki, Rachel, Michelle, Amanda, Michael, Corrie, David and Kirsty. All born on July 1, 1975.
In 1985 they were entered into a radio competition, each presumably by a family member, to contribute to a time capsule. Their tenth birthday, July 1, 1985 shared with Telecom (now Telstra's) tenth birthday.
They added letters and gifts into the time capsule, which was sealed on July 1, 1985 at Telstra's then new Adelaide Headquarters on Pirie St.
It sat there until recently and moved at the start of the year when Telstra went to a new building on King William St.
Staff had been maintaining it for the last 40 years, but at the start of the year, they realised they needed to track down the people being all 10 names scribed onto the time capsule.
A national search began, using radio, TV and social media. All ten names were tracked down back in May. Given not all will be able to make the reopening ceremony on July 1, they were invited to a reunion earlier this month.
Their hair a bit thinner, with a few more wrinkles and a bit taller – the occasion could be described as a very happy coming of age.
Air hostess Vicki Nuske, was one of the Telstra Ten, she flew down from Brisbane for the reunion and will return to Adelaide tomorrow.
A country girl from Loxton, she'd normally travel to Adelaide once a year. When she was invited to add to the time capsule, she was picked up in a limo and taken to a lavish dinner with the other nine group members and scenes similar to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
'Every time that birthday came around, I was always thinking about opening that time capsule on our 50th,' Nuske said
Michelle Warncken, another member of the ten, has kept all the memorabilia from the day.
The telegram invitation, a Telstra magazine with photos of the capsule laying event, the small jumper lay on a table set up at the reunion party photos of the group together in matching jumpers.
They were given new versions of the jumper today.
Another member, David Kyriacou told 7NEWS he's a little different since he put his letter in the capsule.
'Six feet tall, and 90 something kilos, a bit bigger than what I was then,' he laughed.
Nuske also remembers the phone she had to use when she was little, compared to the standard mobile now.
'We had the phone that went zzzzz, it wasn't even a push button phone, you had to dial it and it went to go back,she said.
Tracking the group down wasn't easy, even though the majority of the Telstra ten still live in Adelaide.
Michael Patterson, who runs the Telstra Adelaide office said things have come a long way since the Telstra ten were invited to attend the sealing of the time capsule, by telegram.
'Back then the tech was landlines, telegraphs, faxes, we've evolved and transformed as now there are thing are 6g and are artificial intelligence,' he said.
Tuesday morning they'll open the time capsule here in Adelaide, marking not only each member of the Telstra ten's 50th birthday, but also the 50th birthday of Telstra if you include its beginnings as Telecom.