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Story: Weather forecasting

Radio equipment

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Radio equipment

Telegraphs had been used with some success by the meteorological office since the mid-1870s. But in 1913 the New Zealand government bought five Telefunken radio sets in the hope that this would allow reports to be received from ships at sea. Success was hindered, however, by the limited measuring and recording instruments on the ships. Weather reporting did not improve until the advent of a regular aviation service.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-001917-G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Erick Brenstrum, Weather forecasting – Early forecasting, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8009/radio-equipment (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Erick Brenstrum, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 June 2016.