History of Launceston WSO

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Launceston Meteorological Office

The Meteorology Office at Launceston Airport has been serving the people of Launceston and Northern Tasmania since 1937.

In October 1937 the Bureau of Meteorology funded Assistant Meteorologist Mr. A.G.Rose to provide a service for the fledgling domestic airline, Holymans. (Holymans progressed to become Australian National Airways and eventually part of the, now defunct, Ansett airlines.)
Early duties by Mr. Rose, and later Mr. H. S. Tregenza, included pilot balloon flights and aerodrome observations. A classic account from these early days surrounds the 1943 endeavour to minimise the severity of the Tasmanian winter. The Officer-in- Charge requested a heated shelter in order to offer some protection from the weather for the Observer. The reply from the Divisional Meteorologist was abrupt and to the point – “a heated shelter was out of the question!”

This aside, the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology’s National Climate Centre has observation records for Launceston Airport since 1939.

These observations have been aided by:

  • a manual weather balloon tracking radar (WF2) installed in July 1966;
  • automatic, remote reading, instruments installed in February 1969; and
  • an Automatic weather balloon tracking radar (WF3) installed in 1998.

Further automatic instruments are expected to be installed at the Launceston Meteorology Office in 2004 - an automatic weather station that can detect cloud and atmospheric clarity, and an instrument called a profiler that is used to calculate wind velocities at different altitudes in the atmosphere. The profiler will replace the use of weather balloons and radar.

City of Launceston

The provincial city of Launceston, in northern Tasmania’s picturesque Tamar Valley, is a regional centre serving the needs of 240, 000 people.

Established in 1806, Launceston is now Tasmania’s largest local government municipality. In addition to its role as a commercial centre, Launceston is a centre for education, health, medical research, tourism, technology, recreation, culture, and agriculture.

Seventy nine percent of Tasmania’s agricultural output is derived in northern Tasmania, and serviced, to some extent, by the city of Launceston. As diverse as its terrain, extending a mere 350 kilometres from coast to coast, weather plays a critical role in the life of all northern Tasmanian farmers. They have had to adapt their practices to soaking rains and wind ravaged headlands of the west, snow capped Alpine highlands in central areas, and sun-drenched plains and coastline in the east.

The main agricultural products include mixed vegetables, broad-acre crops, dairy, livestock, timber, and wine. However, during November, expanses of brilliant pink also highlight the extent of a unique ‘alkaloid’ industry in northern Tasmania (that’s right, fields full of opium poppies supplying several pharmaceutical companies).

As a commercial service centre and hub for an array of industries, the city of Launceston has had to rely on the initiative and progressive attitude of its people.
The people of Launceston, to a degree, have been responsible for some remarkable achievements:

  • formation of the movement to end convict transportation;
  • establishment of the city of Melbourne;
  • setting the framework for Australia’s first major airline;
  • hydro-electricity powered street lights;
  • developing underground sewerage system; and
  • the use of anaesthetic in surgery.

In contemporary times, Launcestonians have embarked on a programme of sustainable, urban renewal, and waterway management. These programmes are highlighted respectively by the Inveresk Rail yard District, and the Tamar River Wetlands and ‘Seaport’ developments.