[LINK] Re: Oldest registered .au domain?

[Richard Archer]

At 3:12 PM +1100 6/11/06, Antony Barry wrote:

>On 06/11/2006, at 2:16 PM, Richard Archer wrote:
>
>> The oldest references I can find to .com.au domains are:
>> decus.com.au
>> praxa.com.au
>>
>> These date back to July 1988.
>
>The Australian Internet Working Group was only just discussing what
>2nd level domains Australia would have around 1992-3 so this doesn't
>sound right.
>
>Also AARNet was only set up in 1989 and Robert Elz was doing all the
>domain work at the time I think.

This Usenet post contains the Vic UUCP map from 29 Feb 1988:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.mail.maps/browse_frm/thread/2ca76448c3e80157/8cb1c1db81900bb1

This entry lists praxa.com.au as a Usenet neighbor for ditmela:

#N      ditmela.oz.au
#S      Sun 3/120; Sun OS 3.4 + sunlink 5.2 (alpha test release)
#O      CSIRO Division of Information Technology, Computer Networking Group
#C      Andrew Worsley
#E      worsley at ditmela.oz.au
#T      +61 3 347-8644
#P      55 Barry St. Carlton, 3053, Victoria, Australia
#L      37 48 S / 144 58 E city
#R      Network research machine, fibre optic link Uni. of Melbourne
#U      mulga.oz.au latcs1.oz.au yarra.oz.au ditmelb.oz.au praxa.com.au
#W      worsley at ditmela.oz.au; Thu Jan  7 12:18:10 1988

The entry is dated Jan 7 1988.

The ditmela entry in the 2 Dec 1987 map does not include praxa:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.mail.maps/browse_frm/thread/14c878415b0d36ca/276afcb5e76b3bb6

So I think it's safe to assume that praxa.com.au existed from
late 1987 or early 1988.

 ...R.