Meeting of IMO Regional Association for the South-west Pacific

Figure 21 Delegates at the IMO Regional Association for the Southwest Pacific (RA V) Wellington, New Zealand 1948. Front row, left to right unknown, Barnett, H. N. Warren, Giovanelli, unknown, del Rosario. In back row Dyer and Larsen are third and fourth from left and Gibbs, Simmers, Gabites and Po E are at right hand end of row.

RA V covered a very large area including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands East Indies, Malaya, the Philippines and all of the islands of the South Pacific west of the International Date Line.

Australia had meteorological responsibility for Papua and New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides, the UK for Malaya and New Zealand for Fiji. This was a time of colonialism when the countries of Europe and the US were regarded as the focus of learning and culture and Australia, like many other non-European countries, was regarded by many Europeans as on or beyond the cultural and academic fringe. We Australians tended to suffer from a cultural and academic cringe in those days. This was exemplified by Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) radio announcers who wore formal clothes and used a refined English accent when reading the radio news.

As President of RA V Warren chaired the formal plenary sessions of the meeting and was able to use his experience in and knowledge of the meetings of the Technical Commissions and Regional Associations in Toronto and the Conference of Directors in Washington in guiding the discussions. He was ably assisted by his Vice-President, Dr M A. F. Barnett, Director of the New Zealand Meteorological Service, who had also attended those meetings.

Warren fell ill during the meetings and was confined for some days to his hotel room in Wellington. Dr Barnett arranged the best medical advice and other assistance but Warren was eager to keep his finger on the pulse of the meeting. During his illness I received his briefing early each morning on the attitude to be adopted when discussing the agenda items for that day and each evening I would deliver to his room any new documents which had been issued and recount the gist of discussions which had taken place.

The meeting of RA V was very valuable in informing those who had not attended the Toronto and Washington meetings of those proceedings. For me it was delightful for I became better acquainted with our South-west Pacific colleagues, especially the New Zealanders.

A strange outcome of the meeting was that we were asked by the New Zealand Government to form a party to travel over the North Island to test the program they had arranged for a visit by their Majesties, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, planned for later in 1949. Warren was unable to participate but insisted that I should take part. Our New Zealand colleagues who accompanied us were keen that we enjoyed this tour and they were most hospitable in their arrangement of evening entertainment. Ritchie Simmers and Laurie Larsen of the New Zealand Meteorological Service were among those who contributed to a most enjoyable time.

Bureau of Meteorology