π’ Meterological Department
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[custom1] => Responsible Minister
Colonial Secretary 1867-1881
Other Notes
No material has been transferred to Archives New Zealand by this agency, but material may be located by checking the finding aids of the Department of Internal Affairs.
[custom2] => de Lisle, J F Sails to Satellites - A History of Meteorology in New Zealand New Zealand Meteorological Service, Wellington 1986.
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[history] => The New Zealand Institute Act, 1867, established a "federal and scientific body" to provide "guidance and aid for the people to New Zealand in subduing and replenishing the earth". A manager was appointed to the Institute, whose role also included being the "Director of Meteorological Stations and Officers in Charge of Station in the various provinces.
James Hector was appointed to the position, and he controlled the Meteorological Department in its different forms until 1903. In 1861 the Colonial Secretary's Office had sent 9 sets of meteorological instruments to various parts of the country, and government meteorological observatories" were set up in an attempt to observe and record the weather patterns and send the returns back to the Colonial Secretary's office. The Audit Office was nominally in charge of the operation, as the Auditor General was put in charge of the distribution of the instruments in 1861, and continued to take an interest in the establishment and results of recording weather patterns. However, a lack of a clear chain of command and little co-ordination between the observatories meant that the returns were erratic and sometimes stopped entirely. The office of Director of Meteorological Stations was set up in order to further co-ordinate and organise the recording and processing of the Meteorological data.
By 1869, the local weather was recorded at 9am each day using a standardised format at 26 telegraph offices throughout New Zealand, and a weather report was sent to all telegraph offices and ports after the results had been correlated in Wellington.
In 1874 the Marine Section of the Customs Department set up its own Weather Reporting Department initially on an experimental basis, as they were not happy with the lack of specific information required for shipping, especially that for storm warnings. Therefore two independent weather reporting organisations were operating in New Zealand from 1874 to 1881, often with overlapping interests.
At a Meteorological Conference in Australia in 1879, it was suggested that the Meteorological Department merge with the Weather Reporting and Storm Signalling Department.
James Hector saw the benefits of such a merger in both scientific and economic terms, and wrote to the Colonial Secretary about the possibility. The merger was approved by the Prime Minister on 5 February 1881, despite unwillingness on the part of the Weather Reporting Department to be part of the merger.
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Agency
AAPT
1867 ‑ 1881
Other
Wellington
Show History
The New Zealand Institute Act, 1867, established a "federal and scientific body" to provide "guidance and aid for the people to New Zealand in subduing and replenishing the earth". A manager was appointed to the Institute, whose role also included being the "Director of Meteorological Stations and Officers in Charge of Station in the various provinces.James Hector was appointed to the position, and he controlled the Meteorological Department in its different forms until 1903. In 1861 the Colonial Secretary's Office had sent 9 sets of meteorological instruments to various parts of the country, and government meteorological observatories" were set up in an attempt to observe and record the weather patterns and send the returns back to the Colonial Secretary's office. The Audit Office was nominally in charge of the operation, as the Auditor General was put in charge of the distribution of the instruments in 1861, and continued to take an interest in the establishment and results of recording weather patterns. However, a lack of a clear chain of command and little co-ordination between the observatories meant that the returns were erratic and sometimes stopped entirely. The office of Director of Meteorological Stations was set up in order to further co-ordinate and organise the recording and processing of the Meteorological data.
By 1869, the local weather was recorded at 9am each day using a standardised format at 26 telegraph offices throughout New Zealand, and a weather report was sent to all telegraph offices and ports after the results had been correlated in Wellington.
In 1874 the Marine Section of the Customs Department set up its own Weather Reporting Department initially on an experimental basis, as they were not happy with the lack of specific information required for shipping, especially that for storm warnings. Therefore two independent weather reporting organisations were operating in New Zealand from 1874 to 1881, often with overlapping interests.
At a Meteorological Conference in Australia in 1879, it was suggested that the Meteorological Department merge with the Weather Reporting and Storm Signalling Department.
James Hector saw the benefits of such a merger in both scientific and economic terms, and wrote to the Colonial Secretary about the possibility. The merger was approved by the Prime Minister on 5 February 1881, despite unwillingness on the part of the Weather Reporting Department to be part of the merger.
Responsible Minister
Colonial Secretary 1867-1881
Other Notes
No material has been transferred to Archives New Zealand by this agency, but material may be located by checking the finding aids of the Department of Internal Affairs.
de Lisle, J F Sails to Satellites - A History of Meteorology in New Zealand New Zealand Meteorological Service, Wellington 1986.
- New Zealand Institute Act 1867
- π’ Meteorological Department (1881 ‑ )
- π Self-Governing Colony of New Zealand (1867 ‑ 1881)