2 August
2006 - The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Parliamentary Secretary
with ministerial responsibility for the Bureau
of Meteorology announced today that Western Australia's
Giles weather station, famed among Bureau staff
for its extreme isolation, and popular with thousands
of Central Australia 4WD tourists, is celebrating
its 50th birthday.
"Established in 1956 by
the Weapons Research Establishment, initially
to provide data for the British atomic weapon
tests and later the rocket trials from Woomera,
Giles has been a Bureau responsibility since 1972,
administered from the South Australian Regional
Office in Adelaide," said Mr Hunt.
"Meteorological observations
have continued since then thanks to close cooperation
between the Bureau and the Ngaanyatjarra people
of the Central Lands.
"Four weather observers
coordinate the release of weather balloons, monitor
temperature, rainfall, humidity, pressure, evaporation,
sunshine and other elements.
'Keeping these systems running
24 hours a day, each day of the year is testimony
to the staff's dedication,' Mr Hunt said.
Mr Barry Haase MP, Federal Member for Kalgoorlie
said the long-term data from such a remote site,
little affected by outside influences, is valuable
baseline information in helping to improve our
understanding of the atmosphere, including studies
of climate change.
"Continuing the record
of unbroken observations is just as important
as safeguarding the past 50 years of observations,"
said Mr Haase, who will today unveil a plaque
at Giles to commemorate the 50th birthday of the
Giles Meteorological Office.
Giles is located on the Gunbarrel
Highway, 330km west of Uluru, making it a popular
stopover for between 2000-3000 tourists a year.
Weather observers spend six
months at a time at the Giles site, which ranks
in Bureau folklore with tiny Willis Island in
the Coral Sea as one of the most isolated weather
observation points in Australia.
Kristy McSweeney / Sam Dalton
Gympie's weather radar upgrade
underway
1 August 2006 - Residents in
Queensland's Cooloola region will soon receive
improved local weather forecasts and warnings,
with work on a $1.75M upgrade of Gympie's weather
radar now underway, Federal Member for Wide Bay,
Warren Truss said today.
Mr Truss said the WSR-74S radar
installation is due for completion by the end
of October and will provide meteorologists with
more detailed images of the intensity and movement
of rain and hail-producing systems.
"This information will
allow for more accurate warnings of thunderstorms,
floods and other severe weather conditions affecting
the region," he said.
Greg Hunt, the Parliamentary
Secretary with ministerial responsibility for
the Australian Bureau of Meteorology today congratulated
Warren Truss on his commitment to the upgrade
project and to improved weather services for the
people of the Cooloola region.
"The Gympie radar is one
of 15 weather watch radars to be replaced or upgraded
under a $62 million Australian Government project
over five years.
"The project also includes
six new Doppler radars, one of which is to be
installed in Brisbane," he said.
Mr Truss said the new radar will replace technology
that has been in use for almost 30 years.
"The new equipment supersedes
a WF44 radar which was installed in 1977. The
new radar will be installed on a new 15-metre
cylindrical tower," he said.
More detailed Gympie radar imagery
will be available on the Bureau's website at http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/radar/
when the radar is operational.
Kristy McSweeney / Jim Kennedy
