Giles Weather Station
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Giles Western Australia |
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 Giles
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| Coordinates | 25°02′0″S 128°18′0″E / 25.03333°S 128.30000°ECoordinates: 25°02′0″S 128°18′0″E / 25.03333°S 128.30000°E | ||||||||
| Population | 3 (2014) | ||||||||
| Established | 1956 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 0872 | ||||||||
| Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | ACDT (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Electoral district of Kalgoorlie | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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| Footnotes | Timezone | ||||||||
Giles Weather Station (also referred to as Giles Meteorological Station or Giles) is located in Western Australia near the Northern Territory border, about 750 kilometres (470 mi) west-south-west of Alice Springs and 330 kilometres (210 mi) west of Uluru. It is the only staffed weather station within an area of about 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi) and is situated mid-continent and near the core of the subtropical jetstream. This means it plays an important role as a weather and climate observatory for the country, particularly eastern and southeastern Australia, and particularly for rainfall predictions. The station is on the Great Central Road and the nearest township is the Warakurna aboriginal settlement (population 180), 5 kilometres (3 mi) North. Giles is within the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku and is in the foothills of the Rawlinson Ranges.
A staff of three (reduced from four at the end of 2010) operate the remote station on six-monthly tours. A 1,600-metre (5,200 ft) airstrip services the station and the Warakurna community.
Tourists are invited to watch the daily release of weather balloons and browse through the Visitor's Centre. Station tours are no longer conducted on a regular basis.
Giles is named after English explorer Ernest Giles, the first European to travel through the area in 1874.
Surveyor and roadbuilder Len Beadell, who worked for the Weapons Research Establishment (now known as the Defence Science and Technology Organisation), selected the site for a meteorological station in December 1955. It was needed to forecast weather conditions suitable for nuclear weapons testing at Emu Field and Maralinga. The location was strongly opposed by Walter MacDougall since it lay on tribal land. Beadell surveyed and built the airstrip, and chose the name Giles during construction of the Gunbarrel Highway which links Carnegie Station and Giles. Beadell's grader, which is estimated to have travelled over 30,000 kilometres (19,000 miles) in the course of making the roads, was retired in 1963 and is preserved on display at Giles.
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