Nobody much remembers it now, but 40 years ago Australia built one of the world’s largest computer networks. In 1981 Australia’s Department of Social Security (DSS) began planning an ambitious network to connect all of its 210 Australian offices in real time.
Sixty years ago Australians designed and built two of the first transistorised computers called SNOCOM and CIRRUS. They were very advanced for their era.
In August 1951, a conference was held at Sydney University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. It was the first computer conference ever held in Australia and only the ninth computer conference anywhere in the world.
In 1966 a bunch of students (undergrads and post-grads) at the Department of Elec Eng at Melbourne University built Australia’s first satellite. It was ultimately launched in 1970 by NASA. A member of the team of 8, who designed and constructed the satellite, […]
