SEPTEMBER 2023
Saturday 9th September at 2:00pm
THE BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY | HOME ON THE HILL
Speaker - Dick Whitaker
Venue: Henry Carmichael Theatre, Sydney Mechanics of Arts, 280 Pitt Street
Admission: Members $5 Visitors $10
No bookings required

Picture: Fairfax Files
We are all familiar with “Weather Man” Dick Whitaker talking about storms in Sydney. In September he will tell about some of the storms inside the “BOM” as part of its fascinating
history, starting with its performance by the Government Astronomer at the Observatory to its
departure from “The Hill” to its modern home today.
In 1908, the Bureau was made a formal part of the Australian Public Service located at the
Observatory but with the relationship with the astronomers and the weathermen becoming
increasingly testy. In 1922 it was relocated to a purpose built structure near the Observatory
where it stayed until 1963. That time involve intense conflict between the Bureau Head and
the Government Astronomer while navigating two World Wars, all interspersed with several
memorable weather events.
The latest development in its history is the restoration of its dilapidated home on the Hill to
become the library for nearby Fort Street Public School, a wonderful outcome that will
preserve part of the history of this important national service.
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OCTOBER 2023
Saturday 14th October
COSHA MEMBERS AGM at 1:30pm
THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND
at 2:00pm
Speaker - Adam Courtenay
Best selling author of The Ship That Never Was
Venue: Henry Carmichael Theatre, Sydney Mechanics of Arts, 280 Pitt Street
Admission: Members $5 Visitors $10
No bookings required

Picture: Harper Collins
When, in 1796, Calcutta-based Scottish merchants Campbell & Clark dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the ‘Sydney Cove’ to the colony of New South Wales, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's speculative cargo was comprised of all kinds of goods to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7000 gallons of rum. The merchants were planning to sell the liquor to the Rum Corp, which ruled the colony with an iron grip.
But when the Sydney Cove went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Clark and sixteen other crew members were compelled to walk 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help to save the rest of the crew and the precious goods. Assisted by at least six Indigenous clans on his journey,
Clark saw far more of the country than Joseph Banks ever did, and his eventual report to Governor Hunter led to far-reaching consequences for the fledgling colony.
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NOVEMBER 2023
Saturday 11th November
at 2:00pm
JOSEPH BANKS - A SHORT HISTORY
Speaker - Ian Burnett
Venue: Henry Carmichael Theatre, Sydney Mechanics of Arts, 280 Pitt Street
Admission: Members $5 Visitors $10
No bookings required

Picture: Sir Joseph Banks by Benjamin West, 1773
Joseph Banks individually financed his part of the Endeavour voyage which
consisted of a scientific group of 12. Together with Daniel Solander they
became the first trained naturalists to describe the unique flora and fauna of
Continent Australia that had evolved during its 30 million years of isolation.
As President of the Royal Society and the ‘Minister for New South Wales’ he
had a distinguished career and long connection to Australia, but there is
more about him that is not in the history books. Historian Ian Burnet tells us the story.