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Active Lochinvar Spreadsheet March 1864 – December 1870 Combined Final (Excel Spreadsheet)
Site and Measurement Information for Lochinvar, March 10, 1864 to October 21, 1870
Exact measurement location unknown, but it is close to Lochinvar, Hunter Valley, NSW.
Observer recorded as Alfred Glennie*
Note: Alfred Glennie is also verified as the observer for Glenthorne in East Gresford in the 1840s.
Weather Data Measurements
Year, Month, Day, Wind Direction (8 cardinal directions in letters, plus calm), Sunrise Temperature (oF), 2pm Temperature (oF), Rainfall beginning Nov 19, 1868 (Points, 100 points to an inch), written weather description, monthly and yearly rainfall days and totals.
Measurement notes
- All rainfall recorded on the spreadsheet is initially in points. There is no comment about the rain gauge and its location. Total rainfall for the month is recorded in the record books,at the end of each month; transferred to the comments column in the spreadsheet.
- Wind direction recorded as light and variable, or variable is adjusted to Calm. There does not seem to be a wind vane mentioned. The method of measuring wind is not stated. The wind direction record needs further translation. On many days, there is a wide variation in direction recorded (e. NW to SE etc.). There is no indication what time of day the wind was observed, but most likely early morning. There are no wind speed records.
- The thermometer is located on the veranda (remarks 29 Nov 1866). Likely to be fully exposed to the atmosphere but in shade. It is unclear whether it is attached to the house or hanging freely (likely the latter based on Glenthrone records). The type of thermometer is not described.
- Handwriting changes on 16 March 1866 to finer (more “spidery”) script, which suggests a change in observer, but is consistent thereafter for the whole record.
- Attached to the record page for November 1867 is a letter to the editor of the Herald titled Extreme Temperature. The letter lists temperature for each day of stating the high temperature for each day of November. The thermometer is described as a “good self-registering thermometer, compared at Greenwich, of Negretii and Zambra’s make, exposed to face 8 (north?), 6 feet above the ground and well-protected”. The letter is signed J.L.M., Grafton, Clarence River. This does not directly describe the Lochinvar records, but is supportive.
Order of record (in columns on associated spreadsheet)
Year, Month, Day, Sunrise Temperature, 2 pm Temperature, Rain (records begin Nov 19, 1868), Weather Descriptive Comments (also includes rain days per month and per year).
General Comments
The Comments record occasional periods away in Paterson, Singleton. Newcastle, and day trips to Branxton and the town of Lochinvar.
The thermometer was broken in a gale on Nov 2, 1868. Yet temperature measurements were recorded the next day. There is no replacement information.
There is no indication of any liaison with the NSW Astronomer. This quality of this data set cannot be verified. The record has many gaps, occasionally for several days at a time, especially for the first three years. These data are only useable in support for descriptions about weather events using more complete information from other locations and sources.
The main advantage of this data set is the years of measurements. Currently we have no other data for the 1864-1867 period, and only one overlap (see Maryland) from 1868 to 1870.
Howard Bridgman
October 1, 2020
*They came from Aberdeen: Glennie family history: researched compiled and edited by Anne Glennie [Burleigh Heads, Qld] : Anne Glennie, [2015] Cultural Collections Q929.2 GLEN
Original Files:
- A5438(iv)1864-1866 Meteorological Journal, March 1864 to December 1866. Observer: Alfred Glennie. Location: Lochinvar. (260.4 MB PDF FILE)
- A5438(v) 1867-1869 Meteorological Journal, January 1867 to May 1869. Observer: Alfred Glennie. Location: Lochinvar. (197.6 MB PDF FILE)
- A5438(vi) 1869-1870 Weather Journal From 1st June 1869 to Oct 21 1870. Observer: Alfred Glennie. Location: Lochinvar. (132.3 MB PDF FILE)
See also:
Hunter Valley Climate Data: Wollong (near Mount Vincent) N.S.W. (1891-1907)
Historical Weather Data Sets: A Plan for Action
The Maryland Station Weather Record 1868-1897
Hunter Valley Climate Data Sets from 1843 to 1907 Online
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