BAMOS Vol 31 Special Issue October 2018 Bulletin Vol 31 Special Issue 01 2018 | Page 7

BAMOS
Special Issue
The establishment of the Australian
Meteorological and Oceanographic
Society
From the booklet 30th Anniversary Report of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, August 2017
In the years leading up to the Australian bicentennial in 1988, the
Royal Meteorological Society Australian Branch (RMSAB) began
to consider restructuring to form an independent society. The
possibility of greater emphasis on oceanography was one of the
drivers (‘Our home is girt by sea’). The Australian Meteorological
and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) was formally established as
an unincorporated association in April 1987 (and subsequently
incorporated).
To achieve the transition to AMOS, a restructuring committee
convened by Dr Peter Baines (then at CSIRO), undertook
background research on the establishment and rules of other
national meteorological and oceanographic societies, including
those in UK, the US, Canada and Japan (Karoly, 1998). The
Canadian Society was considered an appropriate example, as it
had been established in 1967 from the Canadian Branch of the
Royal Meteorological Society.
The restructuring was discussed at the Branch Annual General
Meeting in April 1986. The meeting included presentations
from a cross-section of members of the meteorological and
oceanographic community, followed by discussion. There
was general support for the establishment of an independent
Australian Society. In November 1986, members voted in a
referendum on the proposed restructuring. The response was
87% in favour.
The following motion was approved at the 1987 AGM:
It is hereby resolved that,
(i), applications for membership of the newly formed Australian
Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) be sent to
Fellows and members of the RMSAB in September 1987, with
subscription notices,
(ii), the RMSAB become a Special Interest Group of the AMOS after 1
January 1988, subject to the agreement of the Royal Meteorological
Society, and
(iii), assets and liabilities of the RMSAB be transferred to the AMOS
as of 1 January 1988.
The membership of AMOS would comprise mostly of ordinary
members, with other special categories to be created at a later
date.
Dr Roger Smith became the first president of AMOS—he had
been chair of the Australian Branch at the time of the transition.
However, Roger spent much of 1988 in Germany and Dr Baines
took over as president later that year.
Including oceanography
As computer-based modelling of both atmosphere and oceans
developed, and as understanding of the Earth’s climate system
required increased attention to the interactions between
air, sea and ice, the need for closer interactions between the
meteorology and physical oceanography professions became
apparent. Dr Baines was instrumental in involving physical
oceanographers in discussions, with support from Drs Ian Jones
and Matthias Tomczak.
Developing the Constitution
Dr John Garratt did a lot of work on compiling an appropriate set
of rules for the new Society, with the help of the restructuring
committee, the inaugural AMOS committee and others. AMOS
is incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981
(State of Victoria). Arguably, the defining clauses of the rules of
AMOS relate to its aims and its mode of operation, as follows:
Clause 1.2: The aims of the Society are:
(a) to promote, develop
and disseminate knowledge of meteorology, oceanography and
related subjects; and
(b) to represent and promote the interests
of members in respect of matters connected with meteorology,
oceanography and related subjects and to present, in general
terms, the views of members on those matters.
Clause 1.4: The Society does not have as its purpose financial gain
for its members and any profits or other accretions to the Society
shall be used in furthering the aims of the Society.
Collegiality with the Royal Meteorological
Society (RMetS)
The transition required some cross-jurisdictional negotiation,
since the RMetS had helped RMSAB establish some 15 years
earlier. Maintaining opportunities for future cooperation was in
the interests of all. The RMetS marked the bicentenary of the
establishment of the Australian colony, and the establishment
of AMOS, with a special RMetS meeting on 16 March 1988 on
“Meteorology and Oceanography of the Southern Hemisphere”.
References
Karoly D., 1998, The transition from the RMS(AB) to AMOS
ten years on, Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and
Oceanographic Society, 11, 4, 64-65.
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