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Federation and MeteorologyBureau of Meteorology
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Table of Contents

Weather News

Introduction

History
Fifty Years of Weather History
Weather Officers—25 Years Ago
The Perth RO Since 1929
Remember the Pioneers
Akeroyd the Great
Out with the Old—In with the New [Bill Gibbs / John Zillman]
Dr Bill Gibbs
Dr John Zillman
Meteorological History in the Territory
Edwin Thomas Quayle—Bureau Research Pioneer
Ninety Years Ago: Birth of the Bureau

Personal Notes

Retirements

Obituaries

Observers and Volunteers

Media

Computers


Index
Search
Help

Contact us
No. 237 Oct/Nov 1976, Item 2971 (continued)

Tipster

"As a tipster it put Weather Man Akeroyd right on top. He tipped that the mercury would go over the century mark."

"Mr Akeroyd, who has been hiding his light under bushels of security since Pearl Harbour, has become Perth's No.1 hero since the forecast ban was lifted."

"None of this 'between 90 and 100 racket' with him. He say's it'll he 87, or 95, or some such. And to date he's rarely been more than a degree or two out".

Akeroyd, a rather burley, balding man known generally as "AK" is remembered by his colleagues for his ready wit, a keenly developed commercial sense, and personal idiosyncrasies. A typical telephone conversation would run:

Enquirer: "I'm sailing to Rottnest. What's the forecast?"

Akeroyd: "We've issued a gale warning. The first half will be very rough with strong nor-westers."

Enquirer: "What about the second half?"

Akeroyd: "There won't be a second half."

Or he would charmingly convince a caller, while puffing on an old rusty pipe and twiddling his pencil between both thumbs and forefingers, with the explanation, "it'll be fine tomorrow if we don't have a change in the meantime".

One of his junior assistants recalls an early smoking habit, "he would stick a pin into the butt and smoke it to the lost shred of tobacco". Another, his sole administrative assistant at the time, a lady, recalls his impatience with clerical formalities "I saw him once authorise a purchase of a utility for the Commonwealth with a penny receipt book". Never noted for his punctuality Akeroyd supposedly had an agreement with a similarly inclined subordinate never to acknowledge the other's presence on the Cottesloe bus on the way to work.


People in Bright Sparcs - Akeroyd, Arthur Gordon

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