LOCAL PROFILE: JEFF WILSON
Enjoying life’s opportunities By Liz Clark
They don’t call Australia the land of opportunity for nothing. Who would expect a little boy who spent his first years in Blackwood Forest, a tiny hamlet in Gippsland (famed for having cross roads, a one-teacher school and a hall) – to become a man who has travelled, lived and worked in places as widespread as Ballarat, Camperdown, Tasmania, Melbourne, Antarctica, Geneva, China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Africa and Anglesea? Who could have known that this little boy was to become an excellent student, a Queen’s scout, a glaciologist, a meteorologist, a director of the World Meteorological Organisation’s Education and Training Office, a husband and father, recipient of the Polar Medal, and secretary of the Anglesea Men’s Shed? Little did he know when he finished high school in Camperdown what opportunities life held. Jeff Wilson attended school from the age of three as his father lived and taught at the Blackwood Forest School, and he could wander from the schoolhouse across the footy oval to join in classes with the 12 other students. The family moved to Ballarat when he turned five, and his brother and sister were born there. Life seemed like one big adventure, from panning for gold, exploring the bush and mine shafts and wandering the storm water drains under the town in fairly carefree days. His father was transferred to Camperdown and Jeff completed his schooling there, not always finding this an easy time as he was more studious than sporting. He joined the Scouts, finally becoming a Queen’s Scout. To achieve this prestigious award, a Venturer Scout must be able to set personal goals, as well as plan and organise activities for themselves and others. They are required to maintain a high level of determination to reach milestones and complete attainment to the very best of their abilities. The award encourages recipients to ‘look wide’. This stood Jeff in good stead for his future, as well as providing an 12
Anglesea resident Jeff Wilson has travelled, lived and worked in places across the globe.
inspirational opportunity for Jeff who was chosen to travel to Antarctica with one other Queen’s Scout.
This experience opened his eyes to the wonders of travel, glaciology, and later meteorology, and set the foundation for his study of science at Melbourne University, with a focus on glaciology and climate studies. After graduation, Jeff applied to work in Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Division (Melbourne) at Casey Station. Life there was fairly basic and for five months he worked and wintered with three other people away from the main base, living in small vans, relying heavily on generators for light, power and heat, and on radio telephone communication, which though reliable was spasmodic and extremely expensive.
Their task was to set up a drilling rig and recover specimens of the ice core to study the chemical composition of the ice and use the bore hole to assess the speed and direction of the ice flow at various depths. They were able to gauge the age of the ice and record information about climate change. Jeff had two tours of duty in Antarctica (winter 1977 and summer 79/80) as a glaciologist, and three summer tours as a weather forecaster. He loved the place. As he said ‘who wouldn’t want to travel to Antarctica, get to operate bulldozers, cranes and other heavy equipment, occasionally get to fly around in helicopters, live out in the wilderness for extended periods, and experience the wildlife and Antarctica while being paid for it?’ The downside of these jobs meant leaving his family, living in isolated conditions, as well as living closely with many and varied people from such
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