Summary

Two rolled lengths of punched paper tape in a cardboard box. The box containg the two punched paper tapes (5 holes) is labelled "Two Tape Reader Test", and dated 9 Nov 1961, and may possibly be associated with a paper tape reader for the Ferranti computer system. Paper tape was a reliable and inexpensive (although slow) method of loading and storing programs, prior to magnetic discs and tapes, and was still in use in the 1970s.

This item is from either ICIANZ or Monash University; its exact provenance cannot be determined (as of March 2013). The Ferranti Sirius in the Museum Victoria collection was donated by Monash University in 1975. The University had acquired the computer from ICIANZ (Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand) in 1967.

Monash University donated hardware, software and paperwork to Museum Victoria. The donation included items from both ICIANZ and Monash University, but it has not been always possible to identify to which institution every item belonged. In March 2013, a researcher from Monash University Computing Museum identified the sources of as many of the items as she could.

Physical Description

A damaged white paper cardboard box with handwritten text on it. Inside the box there are two black paper rolls with punched holes and handwritten text in blue pen.

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