In addition to free calls, most (if not all by now) Telstra phone booths are also WiFi hotspots. You can connect to "Telstra Air" without needing a Telstra account, making it convenient for people like us who need internet access on the go, but are confused by the multitude of offers available. This was particularly useful for us when I had phone issues last year. Some boxes even do phone charging, although I'd make sure you had your own charging cables that didn't do data transfer.
Unless your accommodation is within 20 metres of a phone box I doubt if it would replace having your own SIM card and data, but it is a great excuse for stopping for a rest if there's a bench (or cafe, or ice cream parlour) nearby.
The free WiFi at the Steyne Hotel in Manly.
We used the service a couple of times last year, including a couple of times whilst sitting in the car. It's very handy in a big country where mobile phone coverage can be sketchy once you're outside urban areas. There are phone boxes in all sorts of unlikely remote places.
One common urban myth is that calls were made free because coin boxes were frequently raided for loose change. With the decline in payphone usage it probably ended up being more expensive to pay people to collect coins than the value of coins collected.
In contrast, France mainland probably now has no public call boxes, although there are always rumours that one has survived.
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