Information on which this Appendix is based includes the references in Appendices 1 and 2, information supplied by former Bureau colleagues, documents (some unpublished in the possession of W. J. Gibbs), Weather News (Nos 1 to 74, August 1956 to September 1962 and some later issues) and other sources. Metarch Papers No 1, February 1986, provides a useful catalogue and index of items in Weather News issues Nos 1 to 262 (August 1956 to December 1982). Appendix 2 of Metarch Papers No 7, March 1995, contains a more detailed list of significant milestones during the period 1788 to 1946.

1853

Captain John Heard of USA discovers Heard Island

1873

1882–83

1891

1895

1898

1899–90

1906

1907

1908

1919

10 December: Ross and Keith Smith in Vickers Vimy biplane arrive Darwin on first flight from England

1920

16 November: Hudson Fysh and 'Ginty' McGinnis form Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (QANTAS), with headquarters in Winton, Qld

1921

August: Formation of Western Australian Airways (WAA) by Norman Brearley

5 December: WAA opens first scheduled air service in Australia (Geraldton-Derby, WA); inaugural flight ends in tragedy when an accompanying aircraft crashes and crew is killed

1922

1926

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) established

1928

10 June: Kingsford Smith, Ulm, Warner and Lyon arrive Mascot after first flight across Pacific Ocean from California

1929

June: WAA begins operation of Adelaide-Perth air service

31 December: F/Lt Stuart Campbell makes first aeroplane flight from British-Australian-New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition ship "Discovery"

1930

1 June: ANA begins Sydney-Melbourne service

1931

6 February: H. A. Hunt retires as Commonwealth Meteorologist

21 March: Loss of ANA plane Southern Cloud June: ANA ceases operation

18 June: W. S. Watt wins appeal against Barkley for position of Commonwealth Meteorologist

August: New England Airways (NEA) begins Lismore-Archerfield service

November: Southern Sun leaves Darwin for England on demonstration flight of air mail, but crashes on take-off at Alor Star, Malaya

December: Kingsford Smith takes mail on to England in Southern Star

1932–33

1933

1934

Butler Airways begins air service Cootamundra to Charleville

1 October: Holyman's Airways begins service between Launceston and Melbourne with Miss Hobart, a DH86; it crashes into Bass Strait three weeks later with loss of Victor Holyman and 11 others

23 October: Scott and Black win London-Melbourne Centenary Air Race in DH88 Comet; KLM's DC2 with passengers aboard is second

November: QEA DH86 crashes at Longreach on delivery flight from England, all four aboard killed

1935

2 October: Holyman's DH86 "Loina" crashes into Bass Strait with loss of the two pilots and three passengers on board

4 October: Airlines of Australia (AOA) registered, incorporating NEA

1936

18 May: Holyman's Airways begins use of DC2 Bungana on Melbourne-Launceston route

1 July: Australian National Airways (ANA) formed by merger of Holyman's Airways and Adelaide Airways, which had previously acquired WAA

1937

22 February: Guinea Airways begins weekly Adelaide-Darwin service with Lockheed 10 aircraft

30 May: Carpenter's Airlines begins Sydney-Port Moresby-Salamaua-Rabaul service with DH86s

1938

4 August: QEA Short Empire C Class flying boat leaves Rose Bay on first regular flight to Southampton

25 October: Crash of ANA DC2 Kyeema in Dandenong Ranges with loss of 18 lives

25 November: Creation of Department of Civil Aviation with Corbett as Director-General

1939

H. N. Warren appointed Assistant Director (Administration) in Meteorological Branch

1940

16 May: W. S. Watt retires from position of Commonwealth Meteorologist, H. N. Warren acts in the position

1941

1942

1944

August: Daily issue of Tropical Advisory Statement commences from RAAF Command Brisbane

November: Daily issue of 10000 feet/700mb advisory statements began from RAAF Command Brisbane

November-December: Conference in Chicago decides to establish a Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO)

1945

Staff from the Air-Mass and Frontal Analysis Section, Melbourne (AMFA) transferred to RAAF Command Brisbane

April: First issue of Weather Development and Research Bulletin (WDRB)

17 July: J. B. Chifley becomes Prime Minister, A. S. Drakeford Minister for Air, H. V. Johnson Minister for Interior

15 August: Japan surrenders

31 October: Minister for Post-war Reconstruction Dedman confirms London report that rocket research station will be established in Central Australia

1946

February: H. N. Warren attends IMO Conference of Directors in London and is appointed member of IMO Meteorological Committee (IMC)

24 May: W. J. Gibbs demobilised from RAAF meteorological service

24 June: British Commonwealth Pacific airlines (BCPA) registered as a company

July: RAAF Meteorological Service disbanded and Meteorological Branch transferred to Department of Interior

July: H. N. Warren attends meeting of IMC in Paris

5 July: RAAF Gloster Meteor is first jet aircraft flown in Australia

9 September: Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) begins operations

4 October: TAA takes delivery of first Douglas DC4

December: US Naval Task Force assembles in Ross Sea for Operation Highjump

1947

4 January: W. J. Gibbs appointed Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University College at Armidale NSW, but does not take up the appointment

11 February: E. B. Kraus and P Squires conduct CSIR cloud-seeding operations over Blue Mountains and rain is observed to fall

March: RAAF makes three long-range flights over Southern Ocean as lead-up to proposed Antarctic expedition

5 March: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) formed

6 May: Stuart Campbell appointed head of Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE)

7 July: QEA purchased by Commonwealth Government and renamed QANTAS

24 July: W. J. Gibbs promoted Senior Meteorologist in charge of Central Analysis and Weather Development (CAWD) Section, Meteorological Branch

July-August: H. N. Warren, with W. J. Gibbs as assistant, attends meetings of ten Technical Commissions of IMO in Toronto

September-October: Warren and Gibbs attend meetings of IMO Conference of Directors in Washington, which approve a draft Convention for a new World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

October: Long Range Weapons Establishment (LRWE) created in Department of Supply with Headquarters at Elizabeth SA. Rocket range established at Woomera

December: US Naval Task Force mounts Operation Windmill in Antarctic

1 December: Lockheed Constellation aircraft introduced on QANTAS Sydney-London route reducing flight time to four days

11 December: ANARE base established on Heard Island, with Aub Gotley as meteorological OIC

26 December: Wyatt Earp departs Hobart for Antarctic reconnaissance

1948

7 March: ANARE base established on Macquarie Island, Alan Martin as meteorological OIC

April: H. N. Warren attends meeting of IMO Regional Association V in Wellington NZ with W. J. Gibbs as assistant

June: Institution of regular Friday afternoon scientific discussion in Central Analysis Section

July: First flight of prototype Vickers Viscount turbo-prop aircraft in Britain

9 August: W. J. Gibbs promoted Supervising Meteorologist (Research) in Meteorological Branch

16 August: Punch cards recommended for use in data processing in Bureau

18 October: Convair 240 introduced by TAA, the first pressurised commercial aircraft on routine operations in Australia

November: QANTAS Lancastrian makes Perth-Cocos-Mauritius-Johannesburg flight and return with G. O'Mahony on board

BCPA's first DC6 arrives in Australia

1949

3 January: P. G. Law appointed Head of Antarctic Division, succeeding Stuart Campbell as head of ANARE

27 July: Maiden flight of first jet passenger airliner, the DH106 Comet, in England

19 December: New Menzies ministry sworn in after election on 9 Dec. P. McBride is Minister for Interior

1950

Cooperation with PMG Research Laboratories in investigation of anomalous microwave propagation

27 February: Commencement of installation of instrument landing systems at Australian airports

23 March: WMO Convention comes into force when Iraq is the 30th country to ratify

June: H. N. Warren has heart attack while attending meeting of IMC in Lausanne

5 August: H. N. Warren dies in Adelaide on way back from Europe. E. W. Timcke continues to act as Director

16 September: UK Prime Minister Attlee requests agreement of Australian Prime Minister Menzies for nuclear weapon tests to be conducted in Australia

24 October: E. J. Harrison replaces P. McBride as Minister for Interior

1951

January: Routine transmission of 300, 200 and 100 mb analyses begins from Central Analysis Office

March: Final Conference of Directors of IMO and first Congress of WMO in Paris March: W. J. Gibbs awarded Fellowship of Commonwealth Fund of New York

11 May: New Menzies ministry sworn in, following election on 28 April. W. Kent Hughes is Minister for Interior

September: W. J. Gibbs begins post-graduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

October: Winston Churchill elected UK Prime Minister

1952

15 May: Announced that the tests will be conducted in Monte Bello Islands WA

June: Area northwest of Woomera surveyed as potential site for nuclear weapons tests

July: First issue of Australian Meteorological Magazine (AMM)

September: W. J. Gibbs returns to Bureau from MIT

18 September: Dr Penney and UK party inspect Dingo claypan, Emu Field, northwest of Woomera as possible site for nuclear tests

Streamline-isotach techniques developed for upper air analysis and prognosis

3 October: Operation Hurricane—Detonation of nuclear weapon in Monte Bello Islands

1953

February: Extended Period Prognosis (EXPROG) system in operation

2 March: Comet aircraft crashes on take-off at Karachi 2 May: Comet aircraft crashes after take-off at Calcutta

September-October: Kittens (minor trials of nuclear weapons) conducted at Emu Field

24 September: BOAC and QANTAS announce plans to operate DH106 Comet jet passenger aircraft on London-Sydney route

October: Streamline-isotach analysis techniques introduced in Central Analysis Section

October: W. J. Gibbs and R A E Holmes at Cocos Island to provide forecasts for London-Christchurch air race

15 and 17 October: Operations Totem 1 and Totem 2— nuclear weapons detonated at Emu Field

30 October: UK makes formal request for permanent nuclear weapons testing site in Australia

1954

10 January: Comet aircraft crashes near Elba

13 February: ANARE base established at Mawson

9 April: Comet aircraft crashes in Mediterranean. Certificate of airworthiness withdrawn

15 May: QANTAS introduces Australia-USA service with Lockheed Super Constellations

July: Review of Bureau research program. Project report system instituted to record progress of research projects and publication of results

July: First test flight of Boeing 707 jet aircraft

18 December: TAA begins operations with Vickers Viscount aircraft

1955

Bureau introduces forecasts for small craft engaged in fishing

9 March: ANARE station on Heard Island ceases operation

9 March: ANA introduces DC6 into service

April: Trial facsimile transmissions of Central Analysis statements

1 April: E. W. Timcke retires. L. J. Dwyer appointed Director

16 May: Kittens (minor trials of nuclear weapons) conducted at Maralinga

24 June: D. G. Anderson appointed Director General of DCA

July: Academy of Science Committee for International Geophysical Year (IGY) established with W. J. Gibbs as a member

July: Tims (minor trials of nuclear weapons) conducted at Maralinga

13–16 September: Bureau Tropical Cyclone conference in Brisbane

1956

March: Further Kittens trials conducted at Maralinga

March: Facsimile and ozalid facilities installed in Central Analysis Section

April: Working Arrangements for provision of meteorological services for aviation signed by Director of Meteorology and Director-General of Civil Aviation

16 May and 19 June: Operation Mosaic G 1 and G 2—tests of nuclear weapons at Monte Bello Islands

28 June: Governor-General in Council authorises delegation of authority Bureau to impose fire bans in South Australia

August: First issue of Weather News with T. T. Hall as editor

August: Facsimile network established for transmission of analyses and prognoses from Central Analysis to Divisional and Field Offices

1 August: Giles Meteorological Station on fringe of Gibson Desert begins operation

10–14 September: International Symposium on Tropical Cyclones in Brisbane

16 September: Transmissions from TCN9 in Sydney include first TV weather program

27 September: Operation Buffalo 1—first nuclear weapon to be detonated at Maralinga

October: Bureau begins measurement of ozone at Brisbane and Macquarie Island in collaboration with CSIRO

4, 11 and 22 October: Operation Buffalo 2, 3 and 4—nuclear weapons detonated at Maralinga

4 November: Transmissions from HSV7 Melbourne include weather segment

5 November: ABN2 opened in Sydney. TV weather program uses Bureau forecasters as presenters

22 November-8 December: Bureau gives special meteorological advices for Olympic Games in Melbourne

December: International Antarctic Weather Central begins operation at US Antarctic base at Little America

31 December: ABV2 in Melbourne begins transmission with Bureau forecasters presenting weather

1957

13 January: ANARE base established at Davis

15–25 January: G. O'Mahony attends Second Session of WMO Commission for Climatology in Washington and studies hydrometeorology in USA

February: USA establishes Wilkes base on Antarctic coast March-July: Further Kittens (minor trials of nuclear weapons) at Maralinga

May-June: H. R. Phillpot attends Second Session of WMO Commission for Aerology in Paris and, in UK, studies meteorological aspects of atomic weapons tests

25 May: Bureau Sferics system comes into operation in Queensland

18 June: J. C. Foley, Chief Scientific Officer, retires

7 July: Beginning of International Geophysical Year

21 July: Direct broadcasts from New South Wales Divisional Office of the Bureau commence over 2GB

29 July: First Boeing 707 in operation in international service

July-August: H. N. Brann visits UK and USA to study developments in meteorological instruments

28 August: ANA shareholders approve takeover by Ansett Airlines to form Ansett-
ANA

September: Bureau undertakes regular observations of ultra-violet radiation at Cloncurry and Cairns

14 and 25 September: Operation Antler 1 and 2 tests of nuclear weapons at Maralinga

September-November: Tims (minor nuclear weapons trials) conducted at Maralinga

4 October: USSR successfully places artificial satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit around the earth

October: L. J. Dwyer is elected Vice-President of WMO RAV

9 October: Operation Antler 3 nuclear weapons test at Maralinga

21 October: Automatic telephone weather forecasts begin in Melbourne

4–12 November: Bureau Seminar on forecasting

December: K. Morley begins attachment to IGY Weather Central at Little America

31 December: Weather beacon on top of MLC building commences operation displaying current forecasts for Sydney

1958

January: QANTAS inaugurates round-the-world service with Super Constellation aircraft Tims and Rats (minor trials of nuclear weapons) conducted at Maralinga

21 January-15 February: A. K. Hannay attends Second Session of WMO Commission for Synoptic Meteorology at New Delhi and subsequent symposium on monsoons

14 January: Bureau automatic weather station begins operation on Chick Island off Antarctica

31 January: USA successfully places first satellite, Explorer 1 into orbit around earth

19 February: Initial screening of Balloons and Spinifex, a film on the establishment of the observing station at Giles

8 March: G. O'Mahony attends Institution of Engineers Conference on Flood Control at Newcastle

April-May: Beacons installed on MLC and Carlton and United buildings in Melbourne

April: L. J. Dwyer and R. Holmes attend Second Session of WMO RAV at Manila. Dwyer elected President of the Association

22–24 April: Bureau Conference in Melbourne on estimation of maximum precipitation

19 June: W. J. Gibbs promoted Assistant Director (Research and Development). W. A. Dwyer promoted Assistant Director (Services), later overturned on appeal by J. W. Lillywhite

2–4 July: Bureau Fire Weather Conference in Melbourne

28 July: Direct broadcasts from South Australian Divisional Office of the Bureau begin over 5KA

28 July: Weather beacon on MLC Building in Brisbane begins operation

30 July-12 August: W. J. Gibbs attends meetings of CSAGI and SCAR, and symposia on numerical prediction and Antarctic meteorology in Moscow

24 November: Direct broadcasts from West Australian Divisional Office of the Bureau begin over 6PR, 6TZ and 6CI

December: Townsville Field Office given responsibility for issue of forecasts for general public after consultation with Queensland Divisional Office

December: Antarctic Weather Central at Little America closes down with end of IGY

10 December: New Menzies ministry after election on 22 November. Gordon Freeth is Minister for Interior

1959

January: D. N. Body joins Bureau as Senior Engineer, Hydrometeorology

January: John Hogan retires as Acting Assistant Director (Administration) in the Bureau

January: PMG begins upgrading of teleprinter channels to expedite transmission of weather reports

7 January-3 February: W. A. Dwyer attends ICAO meeting in Rome

February: Australia assumes responsibility for Wilkes base in Antarctica. R. Dingle is meteorological QIC

February: International Antarctic Analysis Centre established in Melbourne with H. R. Phillpot in charge

18–25 February: International symposium on Antarctic Meteorology in Melbourne organised by Bureau

12 March: Promotion of A. K. Hannay, J. Johnston and A. J. Shields as Deputy Directors Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland respectively

16 March: A. V. Atkins begins duty as Assistant Director (Administration) in Bureau

18 March: Ansett-ANA's Lockheed Electra begins service Melbourne-Sydney

April: L. J. Dwyer and F. T. Hannan attend WMO Third Congress and llth Meeting of Executive Committee in Geneva

April: Public Service Board approves reorganisation of Bureau

16 April: First Fokker Friendship aircraft delivered to TAA July: First QANTAS Boeing 707 arrives

4–27 July: H. T. Ashton attends WMO/ECAFE seminar on hydrological networks and methods in Bangkok

September: J. W. Lillywhite and R. Holmes attend Second Session of WMO Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology in Montreal

7–13 October: J. N. McRae attends meeting of WMO Working Group on Networks in Stockholm

November: W. J. Gibbs attends first meeting of WMO Panel of Experts on Artificial Satellites in Geneva, and Symposium on Antarctic Meteorology in Buenos Aires

November: L. J. Dwyer visits American and New Zealand bases in Antarctica

1960

Minor trials of nuclear weapons conducted at Maralinga

1 April: US places meteorological satellite Tiros 1 into orbit. US Weather Bureau mails photographs to Bureau

4–8 April: Bureau Conference on Management in Melbourne

June-July: L. J. Dwyer, as President of RAV attends 12th Session of WMO Executive Committee in Geneva

July: Bureau receives approval to recruit Port Meteorological Agents in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

July: A. T. Bath appointed Supervising Meteorologist, Inspection and Planning, in Central Office of Bureau

15–23 August: Bureau Seminar on Rain held in Sydney August: Sferics network over Southern Ocean comes into operation

29 August-3 September: W. J. Gibbs attends fourth meeting of SCAR at Cambridge and is elected chairman of permanent working group on meteorology. Subsequently visits offices of UK Meteorological Office to learn of progress with use of computers for numerical weather prediction and climate data processing

September: A. F. Rainbird seconded to work at Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority in Cooma for 12 months

25–27 October: D. A. Davies, Secretary-General of WMO visits Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney

November: W. J. Gibbs makes 8 day visit to McMurdo base in Antarctica

November: Dr F. Loewe retires as Head of Meteorology Section, University of Melbourne

November: W. K. Henderson joins Bureau as Senior Engineer, Communications and Facilities

December: G. O'Mahony and J. V. Maher attend Third Session of WMO Commission for Climatology in London. G. O'Mahony also visits computer centres in UK, Europe and USA to assess progress in this field

1961

March: W. J. Gibbs attends second meeting of WMO Panel of Experts on Artificial Satellites in Washington. Also discusses development of automatic weather stations, radar and numerical weather prediction

April: A. F. Rainbird and D. N. Body attend First Session of WMO Commission for Hydrological Meteorology in Washington

11–26 April: R Holmes attends second session of CSM Working Group on Telecommunications, representing RAV

14–22 June: Bureau Conference on Services held in Melbourne

July: L. J. Dwyer attends first consultative meeting of 12 Antarctic Treaty nations in Canberra as adviser to Australian delegation

July: ABC replaces Bureau weather presenters with ABC staff in Sydney and Melbourne. Subsequently HSV7 in Melbourne uses Bureau presenters for two years

August: W. J. Gibbs, J. N. McRae and H. R. Phillpot attend 10th Congress of Pacific Science Association in Honolulu

1–3 August: "Dummy run" of flood forecasting system for Macleay River, NSW

4 September: C. Hounam departs on 9 months study tour of agricultural meteorology in UK and Europe

November: H. R. Phillpot visits McMurdo base in Antarctica

30 November: Viscount airliner crashes into Botany Bay after take off from Mascot

1962

5–15 February: J. N. McRae attends meeting of WMO CSM Working Group on Networks

23–24 February: W. J. Gibbs attends Symposium in Adelaide on results of the IGY

7–8 April: Bureau flood warning system provides accurate warning of flooding in lower valley of Macleay River

16 May: Death of L. J. Dwyer. W. J. Gibbs becomes Acting Director

September: Appointment of W. J. Gibbs as Director of Meteorology

Bureau of Meteorology