Adrian Porter Pulls No Punches (continued)

It is pleasing to see, after leaving the Installation Section, that some of the building designs I had involvement with went on to appear in new places around Australia. I regret, though, that some have appeared in places where I would not have put them. I think that the Giles meteorological office design was a mistake and view the Brisbane Airport observing office building as a failure. In the case of the latter, design alterations leading up to its construction meant that the WF44 radar tower moved relatively around the corner of the building and rotated 90 degrees relative to the waveguide entry. This had the effect of the wildest waveguide entry to the pedestal of 66 degrees. Initially it took three flexible bends to achieve this; later a solid section was made. In any building design, success or failure is established with time and by its users. Buildings should also have the potential and space to adapt to equipment and staff changes over time.

During my time in the Installation Section I had the opportunity to act in the RMO position in Tasmania for a month. This was my first encounter with the future, but it was another seven years before I successfully applied for the then newly created position of RMO of the Tasmania and Antarctic Region. By chance, one of my last installations was that of the new Hobart Airport meteorological office. The connection to Tasmania was complete in 1990 and I have been working here, now in 1998 as RESM, since then. My work here continues my long term involvement with meteorological science in Antarctica.

Recent inspection visits and another winter at Casey in 1994 have proved interesting. Going back 'behind the counter' at Casey while RESM was well worth the effort, and I would recommend it to a lot of managers in the Bureau since sometimes, as managers, we find it hard to accept the legitimate requests and difficulties of others.

Bureau of Meteorology