Average annual temperature map of Australasia (1908)
Average annual temperature map of Australasia (1908)
‘In 1839 the Colonial Office in England requested that all British colonies set up meteorological stations along their coastlines to improve understanding of the weather, and in doing so reduce deaths at sea. The New South Wales Governor George Gipps quickly organised observatories at Port Macquarie on the north coast on New South Wales, Port Jackson at the southern entrance to Sydney Cove, and at the Flagstaff Hill signal station in Port Phillip (which was part of New South Wales until 1851). This collection of stations was the first organised meteorological network in Australia.
The observatories were reportedly equipped with all the latest recording instruments and devices and the thermometer was kept in consistent conditions. These were not the same conditions that the Bureau of Meteorology have today, but they were a scientific improvement of the ad-hoc processes previously employed and a lot of effort has into understanding and homogenising the records to account for non-climatic influences.
The Bureau of Meteorology was created to consolidate the various meteorological services of Australia’s States which had developed extensive records of their regional weather during the 19th century. After complex negotiations, the Bureau was finally established in Melbourne through the Meteorology Act 1906’
