Trevor Donald Tells It All; Life in the Bureau from 1947 to 1989 (continued)

When I commenced duty at the Sydney Regional Office in early 1964 the field stations within the region were equipped and technically staffed as follows:

• Byron Bay was equipped with a Marconi SNW51 radar operated by the lighthouse staff and maintained by technical staff from the Queensland Region;


• Cobar was equipped with a AA3 Mk VII radar and 72 MHz radiosonde; Jannes Keuken was resident Senior Observer (Radio);


• Coffs Harbour was equipped with a WF2 radar and housed the base radio station for the Macleay Valley radio reporting rain gauge system. There was no resident 'tech'. I was responsible for the periodic maintenance of the WF2 radar, but DCA radio technical staff attended to all emergency repairs and carried out all repairs and routine maintenance of the Macleay Valley system, which consisted of the base station at Coffs Harbour, a repeating station at Point Lookout (in DCA premises) and five gauging stations;


• Lord Howe Island was equipped with a 277F radar and 72 MHz radiosonde; I can't remember the name of the Senior Observer (Radio), but he was a very keen fisherman and Lord Howe Island must have been paradise for him;


• Moree was equipped with a WF2 radar and 72 MHz radiosonde; Len Dawson was resident Senior Observer (Radio);


• Norfolk Island was equipped with a 403 MHz Metox radio theodolite; Eric Holmes was resident Senior Observer (Radio);


• Williamtown was equipped with a 277F radar and 72 MHz radiosonde; Ted Taylor was resident Senior Observer (Radio).

The next WF2 radar installation in the NSW Region was at Wagga Wagga and, on completion, Jannes Keuken was transferred from Cobar to become resident Senior Observer (Radio). In turn Jannes was relieved at Cobar by another of the technicians recruited in the UK.

Bureau of Meteorology