Profile: Jeff Wilson

LOCAL PROFILE: JEFF WILSON Enjoying life’s oppor tunities

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 inspirational opportunity for Jeff who was chosen to travel to Antarctica with one other Queen’s Scout.

Anglesea resident Jeff Wilson has travelled, lived and worked in places across the globe.

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

a range of backgrounds. Jeff was studying for his Masters degree throughout these hard but fascinating times.

In 1980 Jeff was selected as a trainee weather forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). The Bureau in Melbourne had its own school, teaching physics and mathematics, basic weather observation, meteorological forecasting and the use of radars and satellites.

After a 40-week course, Jeff came to realise that weather forecasting is all about science, but experience is just as important. He began work with the Bureau in Tasmania as a junior weather forecaster. His tasks included broadcasting weather information for the public, for aviation, shipping, fishing, agriculture and fire services.

His wife Kaye joined him in Tasmania, and then in 1984 Jeff was seconded to Melbourne for 12 months as a lecturer at the Bureau’s Training Centre, and their first daughter Lillian was born.

They returned to Hobart in early 1985 but were back permanently in Melbourne the following year following another Antarctic adventure, this time on the Nella Dan, which was due to be away for six weeks but ended up being nearly four months as it became stuck in the ice for several months.

He found this work enjoyable, rewarding and engaging, so much so that from 1986 to 2007 he continued in the training area, and ended up as Principal of the Training Centre.

Through the Bureau’s training program, he became involved with the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO), a UN affiliate, where he helped develop and deliver training programs, including online programs about satellite systems and data, and how to be a trainer.

In 2008 Jeff was appointed Director of Education and Training for the WMO and moved with Kaye to Geneva. Here he was responsible for helping the organisation set standards for meteorological training worldwide, providing a fellowship program for poorer countries, training and running programs in China, Russia, France, and the UK among many others.

He found this a very privileged post and enjoyed the learning, the teaching, the travel, frequent visitors from Australia, return trips home and the lifestyle in general.

Jeff and Kaye’s daughters (Lillie, Rose and Ruby) also enjoyed having the family home in Brunswick to themselves, as well as a place in the middle of Europe to visit each year.

In 2013 Jeff and Kaye returned to Australia for his mother’s 80th birthday and began to look at houses for sale in Anglesea in which to retire.

Childhood summer days had been spent at the caravan park or in private accommodation in Anglesea and they had brought their own children to the Surf Coast for holidays.

They were looking for somewhere familiar to settle, and soon found a house to purchase. It was not until 2016 that Jeff left Geneva to return home. He is now contracted to WMO as a consultant to assist a group of researchers with a 10-year project to improve environmental predictions in polar regions.

He finds this both intellectually challenging and very satisfying, and enjoys being able to continue to contribute skills back to this field of study. In May 2022 he is hoping to attend a face-to-face conference as a culmination of this 10-year project.

After such a busy and intense career, one would imagine Jeff would be sitting with his feet up taking a break. But that’s not so. He is currently Secretary of Anglesea Men’s Shed, a member of the local CFA unit and of the Community Garden.

He is learning new skills as well as sharing his own expertise. Jeff enjoys the interaction with local people, seeing the other side of meteorological events through the eyes of the CFA, and adding his unique contribution to the community.

Jeff notes that none of this would have been possible without the key support of Kaye and his daughters.