January 24, 1895] 



NA rURE 



307 



partment, from 1856 to ihe end of February 185S, when Prof. 

 Neumayer, now Director of the Nautical Oliseivatory at Ham- 

 burg, commenced systematic observations at the new Magnetic 

 and Meteorological Oliservatory, at Flagstaff Hill, Melbourne. 

 Dr. Neumayer also established several observing stations at the 

 lighthouses on the coast, and at a few places inland. 



On the retirement of Dr. Neumayer in 1S63, the Magnetic 

 and Metenroh.gical Department was transferred to the present 

 Astronomical Observatory, then just erected, and placed under 

 the direction of the astronomer, Mr. Ellery, in whose hands 

 the institution soon became what it is to-day— not only a credit 

 to the colony which founded it, but second to none in the 

 southern hemisphere. He threw all his energy and skill as a 

 physicist into his work, and early introduced photographic and 

 other systems, by which we obtain continuous records of all 

 variations of terrestrial magnetism, barometric pressure, and 

 changesof temperature, elecirical slates of the atmisphere, and 

 the direction and force or velocity of the wind, besides thermo- 

 meters sunk at various depihs (3 feet, 6 feet, and 8 feet) to de- 

 termine the temperature of the ground ; while, as regards astro- 

 nomy, we have only to visit the observatory to see that it pos- 

 sesses some of the finest instiuments in the world. 



Besides the Melbourne Observatory, he has established 

 meteorological stati ns of the second order at Portland, Cape 

 Otway, Wilson's Promontory, Gabo Island, Ball.irat (Mount 

 Pleasani), Hendigo, ICchuca, Sale (at the School of .Mines), 

 and twenty-three stations of the third order, besides 5 15 rainfall 

 stations judiciously distributed throughout the color./. 



In South Australia, thanks to the late Sir George Kingston, 

 father of the present Premier, we have a continuous record of 

 the rainfall in Ailelaide from 1839, which that gentleman 

 maintained until 1878. 



Meteorological o'lservations, more or less complete, were 

 made at the Survey OlTice for a number of years, or until I 

 took up the work in November 1856, when the observatory 

 records commenced under my direction as Government 

 Astronomer. 



Since May i860, all the observations have been made at the 

 West Teriace observatory. For several years I had no assistant, 

 and having a growing telegraph department to look after and 

 control, the area of my work was necessarily restricted, and I 

 laboured under many disadvantages ; but I early established 

 meteorological stations at Clare, Kapunda, .Slrathalbyn, 

 Goolwa, Robe, and Mount Gambler, and placed rain gauges at 

 the different telegraph offices. I also introduced the system of 

 publishing daily repoits of the weather and rainfall from all 

 stations at the head telegraph office in .Adelaide. 



We have now meteorological stations, having standard or 

 Hoard of Trade barometers, dry and wet bulb thermometers, 

 maximum and minimum thermometers, and rain gauges, at Port 

 Darwin, D.ily Waters, .\lice Springs, Charlotte Waters. .Strang- 

 ways Springs, Farina, Pott .-Xugusta, Vongala, Clare, Kapunda, 

 the Agriculiiiral College at Koseworthy, Mount B.irker, 

 Strathalbyn, Eucla, Fowler's Bay, Streaky Bay, Port Lincoln, 

 Cape Boida, Robe, Mount Gambler, and Cape Northumber- 

 land, and 370 rain gauges ; at the lighthouses at Cape Horda 

 and Cape Northumberland, and at the telegraph offices at Port 

 Darwin and .\lice S|irings, the observations are taken every 

 three hours, night and day; at other stations at gh. a.m., 3h. 

 p.m., gh. p.m.; whilst at Alice Springs there is a large evapora- 

 tion tank similar to the one at the observatory, which it may 

 be convenient here to describe. 



It consists, first, of a brick tank, lined with cement ; internal 

 measurement, 4ft. 6in. square and 3ft. 2in. deep. Inside this 

 tank is another, made of slate, 3ft. scpiare and 3ft. deep, leav- 

 ing an intervening space between it and the larger tank of yin 

 Both tanks are filled to the same level, or to within 3in. or 4in. 

 of the top, fresh water being added as required. The evapora- 

 tion is measured by a graduated vertical diI, which is carried 

 by a float placed in a vertical cylinder of copper 4in in diameter 

 (perfor.ated at the bottom) standing in the inner tank. The rod 

 is graduated to ,',7 of an inch, and is read off by means of a 

 fixed vernier to ,,',-, of an inch. A rain guage is placed by the 

 side of the tank, and both the evaporation and the rainfall are 

 rea<l at 9a.m. and 9 p.m. 



In Tasmania, the Imperial Government established a mag- 

 netic and meteorological observatory .at Hobart, as part of an 

 international scheme, in charge of Captain ICay, and systematic 

 meteorological observations were conducted from 1S41 to 1S54, 

 hourly readings being taken until the end of 184S. The results 

 were published, together with the nugnetic observations, in 



NO. 13 I 7, VOL. 51] 



four large quarto volumes with a short but interesting and in- 

 structive article by the late Prof. Dove, then director of the 

 meteorological stations in Prussia. Similar observatories were 

 established at Greenwich, St. Helena, Cape of Good Hope, 

 and Toronto, besides places in Europe, and by Russia in A-ia. 



From the beginning of 1855, the Imperial Observatory being 

 closed, meteorological observations at II )bart were carried on 

 by the late Mr. Francis Abbott until about the year 18S0, 

 when the Government took up the work, which was entrusted 

 to the late Captain Shortt, R.N., who died in 1893. Captain 

 Shortt proved a valuable coadjutor, and established eight other 

 observing stations, besides a number of rain gauges in various 

 parts of the island, of which there are now about fifty-nine. 



In Western Australia, a meterological observatory was estab- 

 lished by the Government in connection with the Surveyor- 

 (ieneral's office, the work being entrusted to .Mr. M. A. C. 

 Fraser, in 1876, since which continuous records have been 

 published. Prior to the date mentioned we have r.Vin and 

 temperature records at Perth from i860 to 1869, taken by Mr. 

 H. Knight. At present Mr. Fraser has fii'teen meteorological 

 stations, exclusive of Perth, and ninety-one rain gauges. .\t 

 Penh there is a self-recording barometer, selected by me when 

 in England in 18S6. The observations in this colony are very 

 valuable, extending, as they do, from the south coast well into 

 the tropics at Wyndham, Ca nbridge Gulf. 



In Queensland, as has already been stated, meteorological 

 stations were started at Brisbane and Rockhampton by .VI r. 

 Scott, the first Government Astronomer of New South Wales. 

 I do not know the exact date, but Mr. Scott arrived in the 

 colony in 1858, and retired in 1862. The instruments were 

 transferred to Queensland on its separation from the parent 

 colony, and for some years the duties of meteorologist devolved 

 on Mr. Edmund MacDonnell, who established several observing 

 stations and a numf>er of rain gauges. 



fn 18S7, Mr. Wragge was appointed, who — with the great 

 ability and energy which characterise him, and which had 

 brought him so much renown in starting, I believe at his own 

 expense, the high level observatory at Ben Nevis, where he 

 conducted the work under difficulties which would have deterred 

 most men — soon elTected a complete revolution. Beginning 

 his work on January i, 1887, he speedily equipped stations of 

 the several orders all over the colony, along the coast round to 

 the Gulf of Carpentaria, and inlanil to the very western 

 boundary of the colony. He classified his stations under five 

 orders, according to the completeness of their equipment. 



Following the example of Mr. Ellery, Mr. Russell, and 

 myself, Mr. Wragge commenced the system of publishing duly 

 reports of weather and rainfall, and a synoptic map similar to 

 the map we had for some time been issuing in Adelaide. He 

 also co-operated with us in publishing forecasts of the probable 

 weather during each ensuing twenty-four hours, with this 

 addition, that he issued forecasts not only for Queensland, but 

 also for the other .\ustrali.an colonies ; and, as these latter were 

 made without regard to those published at an earlier hour by the 

 several local authorities, it has occasionally happened that the 

 two forecasts for the same colony differed from each other. I 

 will not venture an opinion as to the desirableness of this inde- 

 pendent action, beyond remarking that supposing the judgment 

 and qualifications of the other meteorologists to be equally 

 good, their local experience, and the possession of more det.ailed 

 information in regard especially to prognostics, clouds, &c., 

 gives them an advantage, and their forecasts should be of equal 

 value, and be more frequently justified. I regret that -Mr. 

 Wiagge's collected observations have not yet been published — 

 from causes, it may be presumed, beyond his control — in such 

 detail as he himself would wish, and which, in the interests of 

 science, we all desire. This is to be regretted, as his stations 

 are so distributed as to represent the climate of all parts of that 

 large colony. 



Besides the stations in Queensland, Mr. Wragge tells me he 

 has supplied instruments for two sl.itions of the first order in 

 New Guinea, for one in New Caledonia, one in Fiji, and one in 

 Norfolk Island, and two others of the second order in New 

 Guinea. 



In New Zealand, I learn from Sir fames Htctor, that from 

 1S53 meteorological reports were included in the yearly volume 

 of statistics issued by the Registrar-General, but the obser- 

 vations were of irregular character, and possessed little value 

 until 1859, when the woik was taken up in a more 

 systematic manner. Observers were appointed at Wan- 

 ganui, .\uckland, Napier, New Plymouth, Wellington, 



