A quick history lesson
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Built in the late 1940's Australia's first computer "CSIRAC" (formerly CSIR MK1) was both developed largely independent of international machines and was at the forefront of technology at the time.
The Brainchild of Trevor Pearcey at the CSIR's (now CSIRO) Radiophysics department this computer is recognized being the oldest surviving electronic, first generation, computer. The first to provide a computing service in the southern hemisphere, and even the first computer, worldwide, to play music. Serving over 500 projects throughout its fifteen year long run CSIRAC helped shape Australia through the 1950's and early 1960s's, But receives surprisingly little attention and does not substantially feature in public knowledge. |
Most people somewhat familiar with CSIRAC learned of it through the former display at Melbourne Museum. (pictured) It has since been moved to Museums Victoria's "Scienceworks".
Project goals
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Through this project I hope to not only to learn myself, but teach others about this important part of Australian history and about early computing as a whole. It is also intended as a way to help preserve technical knowledge of CSIRAC which has become slightly obscured in some areas. I also hope to create a simulator that can be made as a kit or from scratch for other enthusiasts demonstrating an accurate operator experience and is conducive to further interest in the area.
External linksGeneral information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSIRAC# https://cis.unimelb.edu.au/about/csirac Reconstruction of CSIRAC's music https://www.doornbusch.net/csirac.html View the museums CSIRAC collection https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/search?query=csirac&page=1 Technical details and JAVA emulator (Highly recommended for nerds) http://www.billp.org/CSIRAC/ |
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Site last updated: 26/09/2026
