Foreword

Reg had a strong motivation to apply his knowledge of electronics to the solution of practical problems. Allan Cornish, Max Cassidy and Bill Brann found this motivation of immense value in building the Bureau of Meteorology's meteorological observing installations, taking advantage of the modem technology which had evolved during the war.

Reg has described his youthful fascination with radio which led to his preoccupation with electronic installations. Added to that was his boundless enthusiasm for turning technological dreams into practical reality. All those who met him at that time were impressed by his eagerness to achieve the impossible.

Reg's father's people, of English and Scottish ancestry, were Stock and Station Agents in Australia. Reg's mother's people were of Irish ancestry. She was one of nine children whose father was a costing clerk in a large establishment in Melbourne.

Reg was educated at the Christian Brothers' College at Essendon in Victoria, and later proceeded to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

During his schooldays Reg was an enthusiastic participant in all types of sporting activity. In schools sports he soon learnt the meaning of the words 'competition', 'preparation', 'planning' and 'determination'. He concentrated on track cycling in his teens and his three brothers, Ron, Eddie and Morrie, also participated in this sport, doing well in major cycling events in Australia and overseas.

This family and sporting background did much to mould the character of the young Reg Stout who was later to make such a significant contribution to the development of the Bureau of Meteorology.

The editing of these reminiscences has been a great pleasure for me. Ian Forrest has made a major contribution by his painstaking scrutiny of the text and illustrations and his attention to layout.

W. J. Gibbs

Melbourne
November 1995

Bureau of Meteorology