Memories of the Bureau, 1946 to 1962
Foreword
Terminology
Prologue
Preface
Chapter 1: The Warren Years, 1946 to 1950
Warren the Man
Warren Joins the Bureau
Wartime Perceptions and Attitudes
Return to Civvy Street
Frosterley
People in the Bureau
Re-establishing and Reorganising the Bureau
Reorganisation of Central Office
The Position of Chief Scientific Officer
Post-War Reorganisation
The Haldane Story
Public Weather Services
The New South Wales Divisional Office
The Victorian Divisional Office
The Queensland Divisional Office
The South Australian Divisional Office
The Western Australian Divisional Office
The Tasmanian Divisional Office
Pre-war Services for Civil Aviation
Post-War Meteorological Service for Aviation
Indian Ocean Survey Flight
The Aviation Field Staff
Synoptic Analysis, Prognosis and Forecasting
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Meteorology
A Wider Scientific Horizon
Research, Development and Special Investigations
Analysts' Conference, April 1950
Instruments and Observations
Radiosondes
Radar Winds and Radar Weather Watch
Telecommunications
Climate and Statistics
Training
Publications
CSIRO
The Universities
Achievements of the Warren Years
Chapter 2: International Meteorology
Chapter 3: The Timcke Years, 1950 to 1955
Chapter 4: A Year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chapter 5: The Dwyer Years, 1955 to 1962
Chapter 6: A Springboard for the Future
Appendix 1: References
Appendix 2: Reports, Papers, Manuscripts
Appendix 3: Milestones
Appendix 4: Acknowledgements
Appendix 5: Summary by H. N. Warren of the Operation of the Meteorological Section of Allied Air Headquarters, Brisbane, 1942–45
Endnotes
Index
Search
Help
Contact us
Warren Joins the Bureau (continued)
It will be seen that there were nine applications from Bureau officers for the position of Director (Commonwealth Meteorologist). Warren was the only non-meteorologist. The personalities and qualifications of these people will be discussed later in this chapter. The title of the position as advertised was Director (Commonwealth Meteorologist).Other applications considered were those from Guy Harris (Gregory S. Maddern and Stokes), Sydney, and R. G. Simmers (New Zealand Meteorological Office), Wellington.
The report records that the committee unanimously resolved that:
- none of the applicants possessed all of the qualifications necessary for the position.
- Mr Warren possessed undoubted administrative ability but submitted no evidence of scientific training. Dr Simmers may have had the scientific standing but did not submit evidence of administrative ability.
- the nature and magnitude of the scientific and administrative services . . . were such as to demand a division of work into two sub-divisions, . . . with a separate head for each sub-division . . .
- the head of the scientific sub-division, who should be a meteorologist of high international reputation, should be the Director (Commonwealth Meteorologist).
A fifth resolution suggested that the salary of the head of the scientific sub-division should be somewhat higher than that of the head of the administrative sub-division.
As I have suggested in the introduction, in the last decade of the 20th century we should take care not to make hasty judgements of actions taken in the fourth decade when conditions were so different from those at the present time. The committee met only eight months after the outbreak of World War II, at a time of great change.
It seems that the recommendations of the committee may have been shelved shortly after its meeting possibly because of escalation of the war in Europe and the growing threat of Japan to peace in the Pacific area.
People in Bright Sparcs - Warren, Herbert Norman
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© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001
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