Notes Prepared by John Hogan
Introduction
I Join the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
H. A. Hunt (1866–1946) — First Commonwealth Meteorologist
Inigo Jones (1872–1954)
Griffith Taylor, D.SC, B.E., B.A. (1880–1963)
Edward Kidson, O.B.E., D.Sc., F. Inst. P. (1882–1939)
My Recollections of Captain Edward Kidson (R.E) O.B.E, D.Sc., F. Inst. P. (1882–1939)
Macquarie Island
Willis Island
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Gathering the necessary papers around him and instructing me as he went along, Littlejohns prepared 'the Cable', a job undertaken twice-weekly in his room. This was a tabulation of rainfall, averaged over each of the ninety-nine rainfall districts of Australia. It was prepared over four-day and three-day periods alternately and forwarded to the Australian High Commissioner in London, where it was displayed for the benefit of Australians abroad, particularly men on the land and for anyone interested in seasonal conditions and their effects in Australia.
Here I got my first appreciation of the practical value of the Bureau of Meteorology in informing the public on meteorological matters and of course of the contribution made by a Clerk Class V (salary £60 per annum).
The Commonwealth Meteorologist apparently placed great store on this item, for no matter how busy he was, or what visitors he might have, the bearer of the completed Cable (one of the most junior Clerks in the Bureau) would have immediate access to him. All business stopped while Hunt perused the figures and signed the paper, which was then hurried to the Prime Minister's Department for transmission to London.
The signing of the Cable gave junior officers an opportunity of seeing the Commonwealth Meteorologist, an opportunity which otherwise they might never have had.
Prior to Federation each of the Australian States had maintained a combined Astronomical and Meteorological service under a Government Astronomer. With Federation the responsibility for meteorological services passed to the Commonwealth, though it did not operate until 1 January 1908. A year earlier, H. A. Hunt of Sydney Observatory had been appointed Commonwealth Meteorologist and had spent most of 1907 inspecting overseas meteorological services and in the organisation of the new service.
People in Bright Sparcs - Hogan, John; Hunt, Henry Ambrose
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