Mr Ian Ross, of Glen Gillian and Mrs Anne Gilfillan of Hazelton were presented with Rainfall Excellence Awards at the Bureau’s South Australian Regional Office, after completing 50 years of rainfall observations.
“Australia is a vast continent and while the Bureau’s network is extensive, there are many areas that are not covered except by the dedicated service of volunteers such as Mrs Gilfillan and Mr Ross,” Senator Simon Birmingham said.
Senator Birmingham explained that Mrs Gilfillan started as a volunteer rainfall observer in January 1963 while Mr Ross started in June 1963. Mrs Gilfillan described her volunteer work as a labour of love as she has always enjoyed both rainfall and statistics and Mr Ross cited one of the stand out events while recording rainfall observations was recording 86.4mm on 9 February 1969.
“These awards are presented during National Volunteers Week, a timely reminder to acknowledge all volunteers, including emergency services and many other organisations and individuals who selflessly provide their time and skills in the service of the community.” Senator Birmingham commented.
Senator Birmingham explained that the Bureau’s volunteer network is made up of more than 5000 rainfall observers, 2000 storm spotters, 300 river height observers and 80 ships at sea. Every day thousands of volunteers collect data from around 5900 rainfall observer stations and over 1000 river height gauges.