The Meteorological Journal of William Dawes. Image: Joelle Gergis (click to enlarge)
To date, there has been limited exploration of Australian historical meteorological records for pre-20th century weather information.
But the information held in these early records is essential for evaluating the historical context of extreme events such as the current drought gripping southern Australia, and defining our range of pre-industrial climate variability.
Climate History Australia’s aim is to extend south-eastern Australia’s climate record as far back as possible, by digitising meteorological records held by the Bureau of Meteorology, National and State Archives, and a range of pre-Federation observatories and historical societies.
Some of the key meteorological records the our team has examined, include:
- Lieutenant William Dawes’ Weather Journal
- Lieutenant William Bradley’s Weather Journal
- The State Library of Victoria’s Government Gazettes
An early weather data highlight from our team’s public talk at State Library of Victoria in August 2012
