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| Charles Todd in 1860 |
At the end of 1855, Charles Todd was sent out by the Colonial Office from England to be Government Astronomer and to set up a telegraph system. Previously employed at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, he had been recommended for the position by the Astronomer Royal. His arrival marked the beginning of a new phase in the development of the colony. He approached his work with enthusiasm and began telegraph construction immediately. This took up a considerable amount of his time but he still found time to begin recording weather data. He had brought the latest instruments and the newest knowledge with him. Later, he would also take on the role of postmaster-general.
By the time he retired some fifty years later, South Australia would have a fully-functioning weather bureau, and a complex telegraph system fed by a world-side web which allowed increasingly accurate weather forecasts to be made.
