Hunt's view of the subject was not original. On the contrary, it reflected the way meteorology had developed in Australia during the colonial period—dictated at least in part by the sheer size of Australia and the resulting complexity of the bureaucratic tasks that devolved upon a small number of people. Yet not all meteorological work needed to be like this. Elsewhere meteorologists also pursued a research agenda that had been lost sight of in Australia, an agenda that sought to understand the physical behaviour of the atmosphere.

At both of the post-federation meteorological conferences, calls were made for a programme of fundamental research to complement the forecasting and climatologi-cal work. The 1905 conference, while maintaining that meteorology should remain a state-based activity, recommended that 'a Central Institution be established for theoretical and scientific meteorology'. In support, W.E. Cooke argued that

The issue of daily forecasts is undoubtedly useful, but the great problem upon which the principal meteorologists of the world are engaged is the study of the dynamics of the atmosphere ... Those who are occupied with the ordinary routine of the present weather services cannot find the opportunity for this research, which requires the establishment of a separate institution removed entirely from the daily bustle, and specially equipped for scientific investigation.[110]

Bureau of Meteorology