Achievements 1962 to 1978 (continued)

I had a busy but highly enjoyable involvement in international meteorology, being a member of the Executive Committee from 1963 to 1978 and First Vice-President of WMO from 1967 to 1975. I had the opportunity to participate in many WMO and other international meetings, and in the free time which occurred during these meetings was able to see something of the character and beauty of many countries.

Figure 48 One of the first pictures received on 8 September 1977 by the Bureau's Medium Data Utilisation Station in Melbourne from the Japanese Geostationary Satellite launched on 14 July of that year and positioned in orbit 36 000 km above West Irian.

Apart from the scientific and organisational aspects of these meetings I had the advantage of making friendships with a host of interesting people from many countries and in the WMO Secretariat in Geneva. At the risk of omitting some I should mention Sir Graham Sutton, Francis Reichelderfer, John Mason, Bob White, Alf Nyberg, Harry Wexler, Joe Smagorinsky Dave Johnson, Morton Rubin, Gordon Cartwright and, in the WMO Secretariat in Geneva, Arthur Davies, Kaare Langlo, Oliver Ashford, Bo Doos, Raymond Schneider, Gottfried Weiss and many others.

I have mentioned that the staff of the Bureau was a very special family. Some of the special members who were missed when they left the family to seek greener pastures were Gerry O'Mahony, Allan Rainbird and Neil Body, each of whom had made a special contribution to the Bureau's development. Within the Bureau family I had many close friends among whom I specially remember Ralph Holmes, Alan Martin, Frank Hannan and Allen Bath.

Figure 49 George Rutherford, an outstanding contributor to Bureau achievements in training, research and the operation of the Melbourne World Meteorological Centre of the WMO World Weather Watch. George on left with Bureau colleagues on a fishing expedition in Bass Strait.

Bureau of Meteorology