SILLIAC

The SILLIAC (Sydney version of the Illinois Automatic Computer, i.e. the Sydney ILLIAC), an early computer built by the University of Sydney, Australia, was based on the ILLIAC and ORDVAC computers developed at the University of Illinois, which in turn were based on the IAS architecture developed by John von Neumann.

SILLIAC had its genesis in late 1953 when Harry Messel, the dynamic new head of the School of Physics, and John Blatt, newly arrived researcher, both independently realised that the School needed an electronic computer as a tool for theoretical physics. Whilst the first computer in the southern hemisphere, the CSIR Mk 1, was already running elsewhere on the University of Sydney grounds, there were several serious impediments to its use by the School of Physics: The CSIR Mk 1 was fully occupied with CSIR research and John Blatt found its staff very unhelpful; and, as a serial architecture computer, it was far too slow for the sort of problems that Blatt and Messel envisaged. The solution was for the School to build its own computer.

A suitable computer (ILLIAC) already existed at the University of Illinois and Blatt and Messel chose to copy it, rather than design a computer from scratch. The University of Illinois were happy to provide plans and assistance and estimated the cost of building a copy at US$110,000. John Algie, then maintenance engineer for CSIRAC, reviewed the costings and estimated the cost at AU£35,200 (roughly A$2,000,000 in 2006 dollars). Based on this, a decision to proceed was made at the end of 1953. A mutual friend introduced Messel to Adolph Basser, who donated AU£50,000 towards the computer.

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