Computer Science
Computing History Displays: Totalisators
These pages are dedicated to the preservation of information and relics concerning totalisator machines that were used for horse race gambling. These are of interest to us here because the first automatic totalisator was set operating in Auckland in 1913. The last of the electro-mechanical totalisators were still used up until the 1970s. This means that there is much that can still be preserved, whether physical remains of machinery, remains of buildings, records, or eye-witness accounts.
Here are some links to our pages telling parts of the totalisator story. The first link is to an outline of the history of the totalisator in New Zealand that is perhaps best read first as it gives an overview and links to the other, more-detailed, pages:
- History of the Totalisator
- Early Totalisator Machines.
- Manual Totalisators.
- The First Automatic Totalisator at Ellerslie.
- Large Automatic Totalisators.
- Transportable Totalisators.
These pages concerning the totalisator could not have been written without the assistance and information provided by many people and reference to many sources. Assistance is acknowledged and detailed at the link below. However, responsibility for the content rests with the The Compiler who welcomes comment, criticism, corrections and, especially, further information and images.
