Von Neumayer and the origins of Australian and international meteorology

Abstract

Georg von Neumayer played a central role in building the foundations of Australian meteorology and in shaping the global framework of cooperation under the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the forerunner of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Though his time in Australia was relatively brief, his name stands alongside those of Lieutenant William Dawes (active from 1788-1791), Sir Thomas Brisbane (1822-24), Robert Ellery (1863-1895), Sir Charles Todd (1856-1906), Clement Wragge (1883-1903) and Henry Chamberlain Russell (1859-1904) in the short list of Australia’s outstanding meteorological pioneers; and with Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury, Admiral Robert FitzRoy and Professors C.H.D. Buys Ballot, H. Wild and E. Mascart in building the 19th century framework for international cooperation in meteorology, especially through his role as President of the International Polar Commission which organised the First International Polar Year (1882-83). This paper provides a brief overview of the origins of Australian meteorology and of the 1873 establishment and early work of the IMO in providing the international framework for cooperation in meteorology until its replacement by the intergovernmental WMO in 1950.