Obituary: Mr. H. M. Treloar

Harry Mayne Treloar

Harry Mayne Treloar commenced his career in Meteorology in 1914, as a clerk at the Adelaide Weather Bureau, and in 1921 was appointed to Melbourne as a meteorologist. In 1937 he was meteorologist in charge of the Research and Training Section of the Bureau and was principally responsible for training the earliest pre-war classes of meteorologists, weather officers and observers. For many of the older officers of the Bureau, their introduction to meteorology came from Dr. (then Mr.) Treloar's lectures on "The Principles and Practice of Forecasting" in the old Horticultural Hall in Victoria St.

In 1940 Mr. Treloar was appointed Assistant Director (Technical) of the Bureau, continuing in this position throughout the war, with the commissioned rank of Wing Commander during the RAAF Meteorological Services period.

For his wartime investigations into the abnormal propagation of radio signals, the behaviour of winds at high altitudes and particularly for his development of a method of forecasting sea waves and swell which was used successfully in the Allied island landings and invasions in the South West Pacific theatre, Mr. Trelaor was awarded in 1946 the first doctorate of science granted to an Australian meteorologist.

After the war Dr. Treloar established a seasonal forecasting research unit, working at the School of Meteorology in the Physics Department of Melbourne University, and in 1955 he was transferred to Sydney as Deputy Director of the New South Wales Divisional Office of the Bureau.

He returned to Melbourne in 1958 as Superintending Meteorologist in charge of the Analysis and Facilities Section of Central Office. In 1959 he shared Award of Merit of the Professional Officers' Association of the Commonwealth Public Service. Professor Sir Marcus Oliphant, the adjudicator of the award, commented on the volume and range of the work done by Dr. Treloar, and praised his "resourcefulness, initiative and originality in work which has undoubtedly advanced scientific knowledge and been of value and importance to the community".

Apart from his dedication to the science of meteorology, Dr. Treloar had a wide range of interests. He was a keen sportsman and in his younger days had distinguished himself on the football field and the tennis court. Poor health in recent years had not in any way diminished his interest in a variety of sports as a spectator. His overwhelming outside activity, however, was the Professional Officers' Association and as a member, then an office bearer and latterly an Executive Councillor, he had devoted a lifetime to fighting for the betterment of the conditions of service of scientists in the Commonwealth Public Service. He was a born battler and his resilient nature enabled him to return to the struggle with unimpaired mental alertness after any setback.

Despite the tragic circumstances of his death so close to retirement, his colleagues and friends in the Bureau like to remember that his last moments were spent, as he would have wished, in full possession of his faculties, fighting for a cause in which he believed so passionately.

The many friends Dr. Treloar made in the Bureau during his long and honourable career extend to Mrs. Treloar and family their deepest sympathy.

Bureau of Meteorology