Hydrometeorology (continued)

Colin Hounam of the Central Office Climatological Section took over as acting OIC of the Hydrometeorological Section and Allan Rainbird was transferred to the Section in the same month as Gerry took leave to study at ANU.

In preparing these reminiscences I solicited the help of some 30 former Bureau people. It took some time to contact Allan Rainbird to ask for details of his career but I was rewarded by one of the most fruitful of all of the replies received. Most of the material in the following paragraphs comes from the 37 pages of detailed information he supplied.

Allan was one of the cadet meteorologists recruited by the Bureau in the early 1950s. They included Don Handcock, Kevin Spillane and Neil Streten, all of whom were to make significant contributions to the development of the Bureau. Some of Allan's early history in the Bureau is mentioned in previous paragraphs in this chapter relating to meteorological programs on television and to the proceedings of the tropical cyclone symposium.

I will refer now to his general background and will leave the history of his involvement in information for hydrological design and cloud seeding and in the development of flood forecasting systems until later.

Allan was an innovative and confident young man who in his years in the Sydney Divisional Office had a wide range of experience. He says that probably the most significant event during his time there was the major and widespread flooding which occurred over a large part of New South Wales in February 1955. Coastal rivers north from Sydney (especially the Hunter River) and many inland rivers in northern New South Wales had major floods. Allan's father was lucky to escape being trapped at Maitland in the Hunter River valley, having to abandon his car.

While Allan was in Sydney he observed a surge of interest in NSW in the development and management of Australia's water resources. A water-oriented group emerged in the Engineering Department of the University of NSW under Professor Crawford Munro. A Water Research Foundation was created with Jack Beale playing a prominent role. Groups interested in water were established in regional areas eg the Hunter Valley Research Foundation. Some local bodies such as the Macleay Valley County Council took steps to develop local groups to study flood forecasting and flood mitigation.

Bureau of Meteorology