Charles Todd Research Group
Consisting of members from six science and technology societies in South Australia, the group formed in 2012 to mount the Sir Charles Todd Symposium. The Symposium marked a gathering of Todd family descendants in Adelaide. Covering astronomy, meteorology, electrical engineering, surveying, telecommunications and the postal system, Symposium speakers recognised the importance of Todd in establishing each of their disciplines. However, no one had a comprehensive view of this pioneer and the Symposium was the first known attempt to bring the main treads of the story together.
The Symposium attracted a sell-out audience of 150 “Todd-o-files” and was a great success for speakers and audience alike. Realising that there was an even more comprehensive story to reveal, the speakers continued their collaboration. The first vehicle for this work was the creation of a mobile app aimed at the general public. An attendee of the Symposium (Roger Edmonds) donated his expertise in online education systems to support the work. The app was launched in May 2014 at the Royal Institute Australia (RiAus), fittingly on the 125 anniversary of Todd’s accession to the original Royal Institute in England.
The third major endeavour of the Research Group now occupies it with the ongoing construction of an online research centre, containing copious reference material for those interested in the professional and civic life of Charles Todd. In the fullness of time, this centre is expected to contain upwards of 3,000 documents. All documents go through a review process to ensure their veracity before inclusion in the database. A find-and-retrieve tool is available to identify documents relevant to specified search criteria. In parallel with the online research presence, this website has been created to act as an entry point to all the work of the Committee members relating to Sir Charles Todd.
SIR CHARLES TODD RESEARCH CENTRE
DISCLAIMER The full story of Charles Todd has is a story waiting to be told. The Research Group is aware that they will not see its full expanse, thus, this website and its links do not detail the final and authoritative account.
Todd’s Adelaide
Todd’s Adelaide is a location-based mobile adventure in development. When completed, players will re-discover the life and work of Sir Charles Todd through an experiential trail in the heart of Adelaide. It contains 17 location-based displays covering the highlights of Todd’s professional and civic activities. It was launched at The Science Exchange (RiAus) during History Month 2014 in South Australia. Instructions on how to play can be found http://www.mobileadventures.com.au/avada_portfolio/todds-adelaide/.
Todd Weather Folios 1879-1909
Charles Todd and his meteorological staff maintained daily weather folios for 32 years, between 1879-1909. A volunteer group imaged them to make a complete online record of all 11,000 pages. The folios contain daily Australian synoptic charts, sometimes encompassing New Zealand, and clippings of newspaper articles, telegraphic and handwritten information about the weather mainly in east and south-eastern Australia, with occasional reference to other parts of Australasia and the world. The folios represent a detailed contemporary view of weather of the day as determined by South Australia’s weather professionals, and as detailed mainly in the press of the day.