Tasmania's Nichols family receives award for more than 100 years of rainfall recording for BOM
By Eliza Kloser
Topic:Weather
13m ago13 minutes agoMon 9 Dec 2024 at 6:19pm
A commemorative plaque featuring a weather barometer.
The certificate was awarded to the Nichols family from Brookbank farm for their 100 years of service recording rainfall for the Bureau of Meteorology. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
In short:
For more than 100 years, a family in southern Tasmanian have voluntarily been collecting rainfall data at their farm in Richmond and sending it to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The BOM has awarded the Nichols family the 100-Year Excellence Award presented by the governor of Tasmania for their longstanding commitment to climate data collection.
What's next?
The farm's current custodian Richie Nichols will continue to collect rainfall data, as one of more than 4,600 volunteers around the country who contribute data daily.
Every morning at 9 o'clock, Richie Nichols walks out to check the rain gauge on his family's farm in the Tasmanian town of Richmond.
Noting the number of millimetres, he then sends that data to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
This is something his family have been doing since 1915.
"We record that in a book and then we enter those into the BOM website and we do that every day," Mr Nichols said.
A man in a blue shirt checking a rain gauge.
Richie Nichols checks his rain gauge every day, and shares that data with the BOM. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Rainfall data is very important for researchers to understand climate trends and riverine water resources, and can help predict floods.
The Nichols family were presented the 100-Year Excellence Award on Monday at Government House by the Governor of Tasmania, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker.
A commemorative plaque featuring a weather barometer.
As well as a certificate, the Nichols family also received a commemorative barometer. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
An award generations in the making
The farm has been in Mr Nichols' family for generations and he said the award means a lot — not just for him but for "all those who preceded me and kept the rainfall records".
"My great grandfather Joseph Phillip Nichols bought the property who then gave it to his eldest son, Hobart Osman Nichols and then the property ended up with my father Jeffrey Osman Nichols and then it's come down to me," he said.
Scenery shots of a farm in Tasmania.
Brookbank farm has been in the Nichols family for over 100 years. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Mr Nichols said contributing to climate data is part of a family legacy that involves looking after the environment for the next generation.
"It's very important that we have a generational legacy that passes down through the generations, and we're very keen on that in terms of tree planting and looking after the environment," he said.
The family has recorded the data through floods and drought, with last year returning a notable result for the Brookbank Estate.
"Richmond is classified as a semi-arid area, and last year was the second driest year on record in terms of Brookbank, which was about 320 millimetres," he said.
Scenery shots of a farm in Tasmania.
The BOM reported that annual rainfall for 2023 was below average for most of Tasmania. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The BOM's general manager, Chantelle Donnelly, said these important awards are often the result of families that have stayed on a property for generations.
"It is obviously hard for one person to do on their own for 100 years," she said.
"It's just another great example of how we can have these intergenerational pieces of information that are really important for country."
Scenery shots of a farm in Tasmania.
Chantelle Donnelly has dedicated her career to climate research. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
BOM relies on volunteers for climate data
Since the BOM was established in 1908, volunteers have been integral to its vast data collection.
There are currently over 4,600 volunteers around Australia who contribute daily.
Ms Donnelly said the volunteers are very important for BOM to get an "accurate picture of rainfall across the country".
"While the Bureau does have a number of automated weather stations around Australia, Australia is a vast country, and it's just simply not enough," she said.
"So the rainfall data that we collect from the Nichols family is just one of many different data points that we can put together."
Mr Nichols said he hopes their family continue to collect rainfall data for years to come.
A man in a blue shirt leaning against a fence.
Richie Nichols intends to keep his family legacy going for as long as he can. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
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Posted13m ago13 minutes agoMon 9 Dec 2024 at 6:19pm, updated12m ago12 minutes agoMon 9 Dec 2024 at 6:19pm
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