Brian Bradshaw departs, 45 Years On . . .

DIR John Zillman gave Brian an 'enormous thank you' at Brian's farewell lunch. 'Brian has been one of our strengths. There are not enough words to acknowledge the depth and breadth of his contribution He's always been quiet, self-effacing, with a calm that eludes most of us. When I first met him, I wondered how one so young could exude such wisdom!' Jeff Stickland says that as far as can be established, Brian was the last link with a major part of Bureau history - the atomic testing era at Woomera and surrounding areas. 'We will miss Brian,' Jeff said. 'He represents much of what the Bureau stands for. In his quiet unassuming manner he has been involved in a great deal of work that forms the backbone of the Bureau's observing systems, and even though it is not generally recognised, he has had an effect on the lives of hundreds of observers through his handling of many industrial issues and operational matters.' Brian started as a Met assistant in Perth in 1948, took his Met degree in 1950 and worked at Central Analysis Office in Melbourne. He served in Adelaide and spent five years at Woomera, including a year at Maralinga during the atomic tests. From 1959 he served in Head Office, first the Analysis Centre, then Coordination and Planning finally moving to Facilities (now OEB) in the Networks and Traffic sub-section. Brian summed up his time there as striving to improve data delivery to the Regions and overseas. He saw many changes from the introduction of the first computers and satellite images, to the development of automated observing and communications systems. He retired as Supervisor, Observations Operations.

Bureau of Meteorology