The Advent of Television (continued)

Bob's career saw him employed on various jobs including three years' service in the Central Analysis Section. In 1958 he transferred to the Victorian Divisional Office as a forecaster. I always believed that Bob's talents in meteorology were matched by a remarkable public relations ability, and saw him as a potentially highly-successful Regional Director. His talents won him promotion to that position and further advancement to the upper echelons of the Bureau, but that is another story.

Bob's reminiscences of his experiences as a weather presenter on the ABC and HSV 7 are reported in Weather News No 242 of March 1978 where he is reported as saying "those were the early days of television when everyone, including the producers, were feeling their way. Members of the general public would write to me at the channel commenting on the presentation, incorporating jokes about the weather, and outlining their own methods of weather forecasting from local weather lore. However, of the hundreds of letters I received each week, very few contained harsh criticism of the Bureau's forecasts and most could not praise them too highly".

Bob's style of presentation combined a serious description of the weather situation and forecast and a humorous, whimsical selection of jokes, quotations and verse. He had, and still has, a personality which reminds me of the talents of American actor Woody Allen.

Not only did Bob receive a remarkable volume of fan mail, at Christmas the postman delivered gifts from viewers which included socks and gloves knitted by admiring female viewers.

Items 449 to 456 of Weather News No 64 of November 1961 give a ten-page summary of the history of TV weather presentations from 1956 to 1961 which will provide those interested with a more detailed picture of what was a landmark in community understanding of the Bureau and its activity.

Bureau of Meteorology