Portrait of Clement Lindley Wragge.

Clement Lindley Wragge (19 September 1852 - 10 December 1922) was a meteorologist born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England. After training in law, Wragge became renowned in the field of meteorology, winning the Scottish Meteorological Society's Gold Medal and starting the trend of using people's names for cyclones. He travelled widely, and in his later years was a reliable authority on Australia, India and the Pacific Islands. September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Map sources for Stourbridge at grid reference SO8883 Stourbridge is a town in the West Midlands, England, which in 1991 had a population of 54,661. ... Worcestershire (pronounced ; abbreviated Worcs) is a county located in the West Midlands region of central England. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo with a polar low visible at the top of the image. ... Cyclone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Pacific Ocean has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands; the exact number has not been precisely determined. ...

Early Years

Wragge's lost both of his parents at a young age: his mother at five months and his father at five years. He was raised for a number of years by his grandmother and educated at Uttoxeter Grammar School.[1] Upon the death of his grandmother he moved to London to live with relatives. There he followed in the footsteps of his father, studying law at Lincoln's Inn. He also studied navigation, and attended St Bartholomew's Hospital alongside medical students to watch operations. Map sources for Uttoxeter at grid reference SK0933 Uttoxeter is a market town in East Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Part of Lincolns Inn drawn by Thomas Shepherd c. ... The main entrance at Barts. ...

In 1874 Wragge worked his way to Sydney, Australia on a windjammer. He left the ship for a number of months to explore outback New South Wales and Queensland. In 1875 he worked his way from Sydney to San Francisco and Salt Lake City. There he held long discussions with Brigham Young. Claiming that polygamy appealed to him, he considered becoming a Mormon before returning to England. There he wrote a number of articles about Mormons and their religion. 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Sydney is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian state of New South Wales, as well as Australias largest and oldest city (founded in 1788). ... A windjammer is a type of sailing ship with a large iron hull, usually used for cargo in the nineteenth century. ... A typical outback scene, somewhere north of Coober Pedy. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Salt Lake Citys top tourist draw. ... Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormonism). ... The term polygamy (literally many marriage in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ... Mormon is a colloquial term used to refer to members of most of the sects of the Latter Day Saint movement, members of a religion which was founded in the 1830s. ...

Wragge returned to Australia in 1876, obtaining a position with the Surveyor-General's Department in South Australia. Wragge worked there for three years, participating in surveys of the Flinders Ranges and Murray scrubland. He was married for the first time on 13 September 1877 and returned to England in 1880 with his wife, Louise. 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Meteorology

Wragge's first meteorological job was working at a weather station in North Staffordshire in 1881. After the secretary of the Scottish Meteorological Society selected him to set up an observatory on the top of Ben Nevis Wragge climbed the peak daily to take readings, while his wife took comparable readings from sea level. For an unbroken series of obervations from 1 June to 14 October 1881 he was awarded the Society's Gold Medal. After a second series of observations were undertaken in 1882 a Summit Observatory was opened in 1883. Wragge applied for the job of Superintendent, but was unsuccessful, possibly due to unpopularity. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Map sources for Ben Nevis at grid reference NN166713 Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Wragge's first wife died in March 1882 after being caught in a blizzard on the slopes of Ben Nevis, although his third child Rupert was born in August 1882. Wragge remarried soon after, and his second wife, Leonore d'Eresby, raised his children. His fourth child, Clement Edgerton was born in 1883, and would later enlist with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment of the First Australian Imperial Force and die from wounds at Gallipoli on 16 May 1915.[2] 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from August 15, 1914, following Britains declaration of war on Germany. ... Combatants United Kingdom, France, India, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto Liman von Sanders Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) Casualties 44,000 dead 97,000 wounded 145,000+ sick 87,000 dead 165,000 wounded The Battle... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Wragge inherited a considerable fortune upon the death of a wealthy aunt in 1883, and the following year he moved with his wife to settle on the outskirts of Adelaide, South Australia. He established the Torrens Observatory at Walkerville, and another at Mount Lofty. In 1886 Wragge was the founding member of the Royal Metorological Society of Australia. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a population of more than 1. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... Mount Lofty Summit Looking towards Mount Lofty Summit, with Mount Lofty Hotel in the foreground and Gulf St. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...

In 1886 Wragge was commisioned by the Queensland Government to write a report on the development of a meteorological organisation in Queensland that could help stem the shipping losses from cyclones. The Government was impressed with his work and on 1 January 1887 he was appointed Government Meteorologist for Queensland. Within three weeks of his arrival in Brisbane, 18.305 inches of rain fell, earning him the nickname "Inclement" Wragge. Wragge built a home, Capemba, at Taringa. 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... Cyclone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... Taringa is one of Brisbanes hilly Western suburbs, bordering between Toowong, Queensland, Indooroopilly, St Lucia, Queensland, and the Western Freeway/Brisbane Forest Park. ...

He quickly caused disquiet amongst meteorologist and astonomers from the other colonies (of Australia) when he started producing charts and predicitions not only for Queensland, but for other areas of the continent. He further inflamed them by inscribing his reports Meteorology of Australasia, Chief Weather Bureau, Brisbane and by claiming that while he and his staff where engaged entirely in meteorological research, weather men in other colonies were government astronomers whose time was also filled with postal and telegraph duties.

In the 1880s and 1890s Wragge set up an extensive network of weather stations around Queensland, and developed a series of storm signals to be used upon telegraphed instructions from Brisbane to Cape Moreton, Double Island Point, Sandy Cape, Bustard Head, Cape Capricorn, Flat Top Island, Cape Bowling Green, Cape Cleveland, Cooktown, Thursday Island and Karumba. He also set up an international service with New Caledonia, by which he receieved data on the newly laid cable from Noumea. Between 1888 and 1893, Wragge trained Inigo Owen Jones who became a renowned long-range weather forecaster. Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the state of Queensland, Australia. ... Categories: Oceania geography stubs ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1895, Wragge set up a weather station near the summit of Mount Wellington, Tasmania, and 1897 established another on Mount Kosciuszko. He also attended international conferences in Munich (1891) and Paris (1898 and 1900). 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Mount Wellington is the mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy Mountains, in Kosciuszko National Park, is the highest mountain in mainland Australia. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German federal state of Bavaria. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 (MCM) is a common year starting on Monday. ...

Wragge was also responsible for the convention of naming cyclones. His original idea was to name them after the letters of the Greek alphabet but he later used the names of figures from Polynesian mythology and politicians. Politicians to have cyclones named after them by Wragge included James Drake, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin. Other colourful names he used included Xerxes, Hannibal, Blasatus and Teman. After Wragge's retirement, the practice of naming cyclones would cease for sixty years.[3] Note: This article contains special characters. ... James George Drake (26 April 1850 - 2 August 1915), Australian politician, was a member of the first federal ministry. ... Sir Edmund Barton (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. ... Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919), Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later second Prime Minister of Australia. ...

In 1898 Wragge began publishing Wragge's Australian Weather Guide and Almanac, which contained not just meteorological information, but contributions on geology, bush craft, agriculture, mining, water supplies and postal information. In an effort to break the drought of 1902 he purchased a number of Stiger Votex Cannons, which were supposedly able bring rain from the clouds. Test firings at Charleville on 26 September were unsuccessful. Wragge was not there to see the actual experiment, having left town after an argument with the local council. Today, two of the cannons are on display in Charleville.[4] 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The town of Charleville is located in South Western Queensland, Australia, 758 kilometres by road west of the state capital, Brisbane. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ...

Wragge resigned from the Queensland Government in 1903 when his funding was decreased following the Federation of Australia. 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federated on 1 January 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia, of which they became component states. ...

Later Years

Wragge in his later years in the gardens at Birkenhead.

Wragge travelled for a number of years after finishing with the Queensland Government. In 1904 he visited the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and Tahiti to examine local fauna, and wrote a report on catepillers and paper wasps for the government in Rarotonga.[5] 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, at 17°40′S 149°30′W. The island had a population of 169,674 inhabitants at the 2002 census. ... Rarotonga Island from space, September 1994 A picture taken in Rarotonga. ...

He applied unsuccessfully for the job of (Australian) Commonwealth Meteorologist in 1908 before returning to New Zealand. He lived for a time in Dunedin before settling at 8 Awanui Street, Birkenhead, Auckland with his third wife, an Indian. There he founded the Wragge Institute and Museum, also the Waiata tropical gardens. Locals believed that he was Anglo-Indian, due to his habit of wearing Indian clothing and a turban. 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, located in coastal Otago. ... Birkenhead is a suburb of North Shore, one of several cities in the Auckland metropolitan area in northern New Zealand. ... Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ...

Clement Wragge died on 10 December 1922 from a stroke. His son Kismet K Wragge stayed on as "First Officer" of the Wragge Institute. December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Sources

• Crocket, Ken "The Ben Nevis Mystery", retrieved December 29, 2005.
• Holmes, Stephanie "A hurricane by any other name?", bbc.co.uk, 21 September, 2005. Retrieved 29 December, 2005.
• Holthouse, Hector (1971). Cyclone, Rigby. ISBN 0851792901.
• McCormack, Gerald "The Myna or Ruin in Early Rarotonga" 29 September, 2005. Retrieved 29 December, 2005.
• Rodgers, Emma "Charleville shoots at the sky for rain" ABC Online, 9 February, 2004. Retrieved 29 December, 2005.
• Australian Bureau of Meteorology website
• Australian Defence Force Academy Website
• PictureAustralia website

External links

• "Birkenhead: Who bought that house?" Information about Wragge's Brikenhead residence today.
• Bright Sparcs Biographical Entry
• Clement L. Wragge Biography by the Birkenhead Historical Society
• Clement Wragge, at home in his tropical garden at Taringa, Brisbane, ca. 1902
• Federation and Meteorology: Origins of Australian Meteorology
• Kosciuscko Hut Association site