JOHN SPENCER’S PERSONAL CSIRAC COLLECTION STORED AT HIS HOME – as at 8/8/02 (Material stored in filing cabinet – top drawer office).
Old
1. Black foolscap binder containing photocopies of CSIRAC library material. (Duplicates CSIRAC library. (Check Fourier Harmonic Analysis & Synthesis & Curve Fitting Using polynomials T601 B137). Both Terry Holden routines. Was his folder. Copy of CSIRAC Notes 24/10/62. (1959-64)
2. Folder containing Blank stationery forms – ie routine sheets, routine specification sheets from CSIRAC, program specification sheets & CSIRAC routine sheets from CSIRO. (1959-64)
3. Folder containing working notes for CBR 320, Arsin routine, alpha numeric routine, 2I Punch routine. (CBR320 is the CSIRAC project number designated by CSIRAC Laboratory). Note ‘Arsin routine test 20/10/60’ contains program with built-in data and the answers). (1959-64)
4. Folder containing CSIRAC routine specifications written by John Spencer – T044.1 B130, T044.2 B130, T044.3 B130, T044.4 B130 (Angle Punch routines) and T113 B130 Arsin. (multiple copies). (1959-64)
5. Folder labelled “TSP Program” containing program and amended program annotated by JW Spencer (1961). Also later Pascal programs by JW Spencer for TSP of tapes recently read on apparatus at Melbourne University (1966-7).
6. Folder containing Programs from Roy Muncey and Terry Holden. Includes paper ‘The Calculation of Fluctuating Heat Flow in Buildings’ by Terry Holden, program notes for CBR281.1and CBR281.1SP, “Dump” programs by both Muncey & Holden, “Optimise” by Muncey, TSP in “fast input” format by Muncey, CBR282.1, “CSIRAC Stop Codes”. (1959-64)
7. Folder containing “Program & Control”. Includes “P&C” by Geoff Hill 2/5/62, “Fast Primary for CSIRAC” notes by TS Holden from the ideas of GW Hill 25/1/61, “Non-Stop Primary T183” by Muncey, “Fast Primary” by GW Hill 24/1/61, “Primary and Control CBR251” and sundry program & control notes. (1959-64)
8. Folder containing CBR254 Met Obs Reduction. Project of R Muncey (1961).
9. Folder containing CBR251 Program TSP. (2001).
10. Folder containing Solar Tables, Tech Papers “Solar Position & Radiation Tables for Melbourne (latitude 38degS)” and “Calculation of Solar Position for Building Purposes”, “Estimation of Solar Radiation in Australasian Localities on Clear Days”, “Solar Position and Radiation Tables Sydney and other Places Near Latitude 34deg S”, “Solar Position and Radiation Tables Melbourne and other Places Near Latitude 38deg S”, all by JW Spencer, ACS Study Group talk entitled “Computer Preparation of Tables for Prestigious Publications” and misc. working notes (1959-68). Also 2001 notes on running radiation programs with the emulator.
11. Folder containing CBR251.162 Curve Fitting (1962).
12. Folder containing CBR251 Final Results. (1963).
13. Folder containing “Sunrise and Sunset” first draft report and working notes (1961). Also Symbol Print of T804 (1963) printed recently.
14. Blue computer folder containing TSP of the complete suite of the CBR251 programs with annotations by JW Spencer (2001).
15. Folder containing “Solar Radiation DBR1001 &1002” Implementation of Solar Radiation Programs in ALGOL on Elliott 803 computer (1964).
16. Folder containing “DBR5001 Solar Position Highett” in ALGOL for Elliott 803 computer (1963).
17. Folder containing “CBRI374 Radiation Relations for Plate Glass” CSIRAC INTERPROGRAM, also contains some material for DBR5000 in ALGOL, (1961-3).
18. Folder containing “CSIRAC Library” containing “Description of the Routines Available for Use on the CSIRAC Computer”, various Routine Specifications, Computing Project details (1959-64).
19. Folder containing “Machine Tests CSIRAC Notes” with publication “Instruction to Operators in the Use of Machine Test Routines” (1959), “machine idiosyncrasies” notes prepared by Terry Holden and JW Spencer (1962), paper entitled “On Starting Routines for the CSIRO Mark I Computer” by GW Hill and T Pearcey (1955) plus misc notes.
20. Folder labelled “Miscellaneous” containing “Office Loan Programme” and “Loan Repayment T731” both by Frank Hirst (1959), “Zeros of Polynomials” by Rex Harris (1996) and general misc.
21. Folder labelled “Manuals” containing “CSIRAC Coding”, INTERPROGRAM by GW Hill (1960) 2xcopies, “Programming Manual” (1959).
22. Red Springback folder containing “CSIRAC Programming Manual, Course Notes and examples (personal copies from when JW Spencer took course in 1960). Also copy of old CSIRAC Manual (c1957-8). Lecture Notes on “Memory Systems” and “Principles and Operation of Electronic Digital Computers” by Frank Hirst.
23. Book “A History of Australian Computing” by T Pearcey published by Chisolm Inst. (1988).
24. Book “Computing in Australia” Australian Computing (1994).
New
25. Folder entitled “CSIRAC 1,2,3 – Working notes for CSIRAC emulator (1996-ongoing).
26. Folder entitled “INTERPROGRAM” containing – Working notes for the interpretation of the INTERPROGRAM by JW Spencer. Also portion of GW Hill’s PhD thesis on INTERPROGRAM.
(1997-2002). Also INTERPROGRAM Manual 1960.
27. Folder entitled “T754” containing an extract from GW Hill’s PhD thesis on INTERPROGRAM, annotated TSP of T754 INTERPROGRAM. (Note this program is exactly as described in the PhD thesis) (1999).
28. Folder entitled “T755” containing. This is a second version of INTERPROGRAM allowing 5-hole output. Extensively corrected by R Bowles and J Spencer due to errors in the only surviving copy and annotated TSP of the Final Program, working notes (2000).
29. Folder entitled “5H INTERPROGRAM” containing working notes to interpret the 5-hole output from T755. (Note: In 2000, Frank Hirst provided a 5-hole program output from a known INTERPROGRAM that allowed R Bowles and J Spencer to interpret how it worked to implement it correctly in T755) (2000).
30. Folder entitled “Music” containing working notes on interpreting Geoff Hill’s Sydney music programs and Prof Cherry’s Melbourne music programs. (Work performed over a year by J Spencer, R Bowles, J Semkiw and P Doornbusch.) Copy of paper “The Music of CSIRAC” by P Doornbusch (2000).
31. Folder entitled “CSIRAC Celebration 1996” containing related papers. Includes newspaper cutting “Institute may set up chip factory” by Elizabeth Owen The Age 5/8/1980.
32. Folder entitled “CSIRAC 50th Birthday and General” containing newspaper clippings and memorabilia (1964-2000).
33. Folder containing current working notes for the CSIRAC history team (1997-2002 ongoing).
34. Cassette of CSIRAC music (note played in Cooledit and recorded on cassette recorder by JW Spencer (1999).
35. CD – The Music of CSIRAC by Paul Doornbusch (2000).
36. CD – Research by Steven Jones (2002).
37. Booklet – “CSIRAC Australia’s First Computer” by John Deane (1997). (Note kept with library books in office).
38. Book – “The Last of the First” by D McCann and P Thorne (2000). (Note kept with library books in office).
39. Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology Vol 33 No 3 August 2001 containing review of “The Last of the First” p267.
40. Photographs (stored in envelopes) miscellaneous mainly recent, some prints of material held by Museum (kept in bookshelves 2nd bedroom).
41. 3xBoxes marked 301, 302 and 303 of CSIRAC tapes (Note included in Database and recorded as stored with JW Spencer)(1959-64) (stored in filing cabinet 3rd drawer).

Story
The emulator would not have been written except that JW Spencer had a copy of a Arsin test program which had the data, program and output so that the emulator could be adequately checked. Program T754 the Interprogram was fortunately found to agree exactly with the TSP in Geoff Hill’s thesis. T755 Interprogram was extensivley modified by R Bowles and JW Spencer to make in operational and to produce 5-hole tape output. Information from Frank Hirst of an Interprogram with its 5-hole program output was essential to interpreting how the 5-hole program input/output worked. A note in the back of one of JW Spencer’s Interprogram manuals was the only place where the method of reading in a 5-hole Interprogram program was described. All these events allowed the emulator to work.