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Computer dinosaurs resurface in new museum

18 May 2005

Almost 50 years of Australian computing history is on display in a new museum opened at Monash's Caulfield campus last week.

Museum director Ms Judy Sheard, Dr Patrick Greene, left, and Mr Michael Leighton with Monash's first computer, the Ferranti Sirius.

The Monash Museum of Computing History, opened by the state member for Preston Mr Michael Leighton and Museum Victoria chief executive officer Dr Patrick Greene, features four showcases that chronicle computer development in Victoria.

Monash's first computer, the 43-year-old Ferranti Sirius, forms the centrepiece of the museum.

Also featured is a mini computer PDP9, the same model used at the Parkes Observatory during the moon landing in 1969 and the actual machine used in the Australian film The Dish. A 'millionaire calculator' -- an early-model mechanical calculator from the early 1900s that was one of the first calculators to perform multiplication rapidly -- is also on display.

Dr Greene said the museum would destroy the myth that technology happened "in a black box".

A photographic chronology of computer usage explores how technology has developed from the 1950s -- highlighting the impact that computer technology has had on everyday life and how our usage has changed.

"Here we can see the wide range of electronic machines, each reflecting the era in which they were used during the past half-century," Dr Greene said. "It is wonderful that this project has been undertaken."

Mr Leighton said the museum was a good example of the state government's initiatives to highlight innovation and technology.

"Victoria has a dynamic global information and communication technology industry," he said. "This museum is a further opportunity to showcase ICT in Victoria."

The museum, located on level two, B block, Caulfield campus, is open Mondays to Fridays between 9 am and 5 pm.

An Allen calculator/mechanical adding machine, dating back to the 1950s, is among the items on display in the new museum.