Mitta Mitta Couple Seek Weather Station to Continue 63-Year Record

Nov 08, 2026 334 views

After 63 years, the Mitta Mitta weather record needs a successor

For Ernie and Merrillyn Cole, the request for an automatic weather station is about keeping local records going after they stop taking readings. The couple, now in their 80s, have sent weather observations to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) since arriving in Mitta Mitta, north-east Victoria, in 1963. They’d like to travel, but don’t want the valley’s weather record to depend on their being at home. Their work began as part of Ernie’s job as a state government forestry officer: a weather station stood outside their house, and he reported its readings to the bureau. Merrillyn took over the early checks so he could get to work. “Quite often I'd have a baby on one hip and a toddler and down to the weather box we'd go,” she recalled. They still record rainfall from the same house. Ernie, 86, says they’ve been pressing for an automatic station because they want the observations to continue when they’re no longer able to collect them. That’s a practical handover question, but also a question about how well automated equipment can preserve a record tied to one specific spot.

A couple stand on the verandah of their house. — Merrillyn and Ernie Cole record weather data for the Mitta Mitta Valley and want the reporting to continue. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

The local series reaches further back than the Coles’ involvement. Weather has been recorded in Mitta Mitta since 1915; when Ernie took over in the 1960s, he inherited earlier records from the town’s postmistress. He says measurements need to be taken in exactly the same place if future data is to remain comparable.

A couple stand on the verandah of a green house. — Ernie and Merrillyn Cole have lived in the same house since 1963. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

When the couple are away, their neighbour and friend Russell “Ned” Kelly takes the rainfall reading. A retired pilot who operates the local airfield, Kelly says rainfall can change sharply across the valley: “If you go another 10 kilometres, there's another 300 millimetre rainfall, for example.” That variation is why a nearby gauge may not tell the whole story for the Coles’ location.

Ernie Cole smiles while holding a rain gauge containing rain. — Ernie Cole, 86, checks the rain in the Mitta Mitta Valley. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

Kelly has also urged the BOM to install a station at the house. “There are over 650 automated weather stations in Australia, so we're just talking about adding one to that, for Mitta Mitta,” he said. He argues that rainfall has steadily declined over the past century and that local farmers need a station to see that trend. The fragment gives his view, but doesn’t provide figures to assess the trend independently.

A hand writing a note on a sheet of paper listing weather records. — Merrillyn Cole still keeps notes on the weather and rain totals. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

Mitta Mitta and its surrounding area had a population of 171 at the 2021 census. The BOM says it runs more than 650 automatic weather stations nationally, while about 3,000 manual observation sites remain. Automated equipment has gradually replaced manual stations since the 1980s. The bureau hasn’t confirmed whether it will install a station in Mitta Mitta. It says two automatic weather stations are 39 kilometres away and an automatic rain gauge is six kilometres away, and says it has no plans to end volunteer rainfall observations in the town. If another community volunteer steps forward, the bureau says it will provide training. That leaves the Coles’ central concern unresolved: the BOM is willing to keep the volunteer service going, but the couple want a way to preserve the record while giving them freedom to leave home.

Russell Kelly smiles while looking at the camera. He stands in a green field. — Russell Kelly is a local pilot who helps the Coles. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

A sign for Mitta Mitta International Airport in red lettering. — Mitta Mitta and the surrounding area had a population of 171, according to the 2021 census. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

A wooden fenced off area in a grassy green paddock. — The in-ground rain gauge is fenced off. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

For the Coles, keeping Mitta Mitta’s rainfall record alive has meant years of routine phone calls to report temperature, wind, frost, fog and rain. The Bureau of Meteorology told them a year ago they need only call after a major downpour. That change has eased the daily burden, but it also makes the future of a local record depend on a couple still willing to collect it.

Ernie checks the rain totals with the valley behind him. — Ernie Cole hopes the recording of Mitta Mitta rainfall continues. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

At 86 and 82, the Coles say they’ll keep gathering weather data while they can. They’d also like more time to travel, and Mr Kelly has postponed holidays before to cover for them. That’s the practical weakness in a volunteer system: even a valuable record can hinge on people being available.

A fridge is covered in magnets from different towns. — The Coles look forward to doing more travelling. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

Mr Cole sees an automatic weather station as one way to make the record less dependent on someone else taking over the rain readings. The data doesn’t explain whether such a station is planned, or who would maintain it. For now, his position is plain: “We want to keep this record going.”