History
One hut, one thermometer,
one very stubborn observer.
The bureau's story, told the way the ledgers tell it: hour by hour, with the weather taking the lead role.
| Year | Entry |
|---|---|
| 1934 | First hut built on Ashgrove Hill with council funds. First ledger, first observer: Agnes Brand. |
| 1947 | Point Brace opens after two shipping seasons of bad notices from the coast. |
| 1956 | The ink freezes at Vale Observatory. The pencil era begins, and never quite ends. |
| 1958 | Kestrel Dam gauge house opens the same week the dam holds its first full pool. |
| 1962 | Vale Observatory's stone tower finished; first balloon flight on 4 March. |
| 1971 | The Great Hail. The hand-plotted synoptic chart of that evening becomes the almanac centrefold, eventually. |
| 1975 | Wettest year on record: 1,092 mm, three roof leaks, one very calm ledger. |
| 1983 | Record heat, 36.4 °C on 27 July. Observers vote it "the quiet cook". |
| 1994 | The co-op programme reaches fifty observers. The stairwell gets its framed oath. |
| 2026 | Sixty-one observers, four stations, two balloons a day, and the pencil still on duty. |