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BAMOS Dec 2024
A visit to the Old Met Building
Dick Whitaker , AMOS History Group
Article
A fascinating morning Wednesday 9th October 2024 , when a group of Sydney Skywatchers , accompanied by ex-Bureau staff Milton Speer and Dick Whitaker , visited the old met building located at Observatory Hill Sydney .
This building was constructed in 1922 and was the Bureau home in Sydney until 1963 , after which the BOM relocated to the Commonwealth Centre in Chifley Square .
By the end of 2017 , the old building had progressively deteriorated into a virtual ruin , and it was feared that a knockdown was inevitable . However , at the eleventh hour , the property was purchased by the NSW Department of Education , which also owned the adjacent land at Fort Street Public School .
The old met building was then beautifully restored and is now part of the library of Fort Street Public School . This is a great outcome that has ensured that a valuable piece of Australian meteorological history is preserved .
The visit to the site on 9th October included a tour of the renovated premises conducted by the Principal of Fort Street , Michele Peel-Yates who was instrumental in organising the involvement of the NSW Department of Education — and saving the building !
The image below shows the building in the 1930s , with the anemographic instruments prominent on the tower on the right side of the roof . The coloured photograph was recently taken below the tower , which has been immaculately restored to its original condition .