The Case of Meteorology, 1876-1908
Introduction
Early Colonial Weather Reporting
The Impact of the Telegraph
Beginnings of Intercolonial Co-operation
The Intercolonial Meteorological Conferences
The Role of Clement Wragge
Towards a Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Endnotes
Index
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That meteorology should become a federal responsibility in the Australian Commonwealth was not inevitable. Our case study shows that, provided a sufficient degree of co-operation could be achieved, a nationwide meteorological service could operate successfully with the states retaining responsibility for the work. We have seen, moreover, that the formation of a Commonwealth meteorological bureau did not necessarily entail the cessation of state activity in this area. In practice, however, this is what happened. The Meteorology Act of 1906 thus not only established a new Commonwealth scientific agency: it helped to define the way in which the recently adopted federal Constitution would be put into effect. Our study thus also clarifies the respective roles of the federal and state governments in the new scheme of things, in exercising powers that could actually be managed at either level of government.
Acknowledgements
Research for this paper was supported by a University of Melbourne/Ballarat University College collaborative research grant, and by a grant to one of us (KTL) from the Telecom Australia Fund for Social and Policy Research in Telecommunications. Gillian Stacey provided extensive research assistance without which the paper could not have been written.
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