So much for the facts and figures of a 37-year career. But what about the man? Well, modesty still clouds his story, but it seems that even when he graduated he had no firm thoughts of becoming a meteorologist. By a happy coincidence, his geology professor was polar explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, who peppered his lectures with met. matters to the extent that when that first advertisement appeared in January 1937 calling for trainees, John took the plunge and applied. It was a step he has never regretted, and his enthusiasm remains undiminished.

As John says: "Meteorology, like the weather, is international. We are all scientists in a common cause and I think this extends to the point where any Australian met. overseas knows he will find a friendly welcome at the met. Service of his host country. We try to do the same here for overseas mets. coming to Australia."

John agrees there is plenty of room for improvement, and sees the major advances of his time as the increase in upper air observations through balloon flights, radiosondes and radar; the tremendous improvement in telecommunications; the coming of electronic computers, and of course, the advent of satellites.

"Telecommunications really are the life-blood of meteorology. We'd be lost without them and the introduction of satellites in the 1960s really revolutionised our communications thinking," John says.

"I think the next big advance will be in using satellites to gather temperature profiles of the atmosphere. This has already been done experimentally, and the current GATE (GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment) effort is working along these lines.

Bureau of Meteorology