Until 1974, this is how the various departments at the State Bank of Victoria Head Office shared information internally: the Lansom Paragon Pneumatic Tube System.
The Lamson Pneumatic Tube System (PTS) was officially introduced by the turn of the 20th century (around 1899), when William Stickney Lamson acquired a pneumatic tube manufacturing company to expand his existing retail cash-carrying business.
Lamson opened an Australian branch in 1901. By 1925, a large-scale Lamson pneumatic tube system was installed across several kilometers to connect the Provisional Parliament House, the main post offices, and the Government Printing Office in Canberra.
By the 1950s, Lamson Concepts tube networks were used globally across industries like mining, logistics, retail, and healthcare.
Not unlike a Switchboard Operator, this employee is sending paperwork sealed within a cup, via vacuum tubes, to different destinations within the building.
Many retail stores used (some still do) a vacuum system between a cashier and a cash point. But these were/are one channel systems. This and similar systems were multi-channel, Inter-Departmental: used to transfer material between various departments via a central traffic point: a much more elaborate system…
Most hospitals still use systems like this to transport pathology lab samples.