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Here we have two old views of Cable Bay, which was once a thriving little settlement, based on international communication. In 1876, the 15,737 mile London-Whakapuaka cable was laid, and Cable Bay was the terminal of an international cable link. The last leg of the London-New Zealand cable was from La Perouse, in New South Wales. News of the world flowed to the press buildings and was dispersed to New Zealand's papers from Cable Bay. The link ceased working at Cable Bay sometime during World War l, when the buildings were burnt. Rumours that the communications centre had been visited by German raiders were rife, but the more probable explanation for the fire was spontaneous combustion. Prior to being called Cable Bay, the area was known as Schroder's Mistake