The Computer History of Australia - Episode 1 CSIR MARK1

This is the first episode in a new series for this channel entitled "The Computer History of Australia". The first episode deals with the Computer - CSIR MARK1.
The CSIR MARK1 was Australia's first computer and was either the 4th or 5th computer to run code from stored memory. Designed by Trevor Pearcey and Engineered by Maston Beard, the CSIR MARK1 ran its first code in November 1949, exactly 75 years ago as I release this video (November 2024). This is part1 of a 3 part series on the CSIR MARK1 (later named CSIRAC) and investigates how the computers came to be built in Australia, in isolation from the rest of the world.
In Episode 2, CSIR MARK1 plays music - The first electronic computer to do so. The description of the machine, how it operated, how it was programmed is discussed in good detail.
In Episode 3, the CSIR MARK1 is shut down in Sydney and transported to Melbourne where it is reincarnated as CSIRAC. CSIRAC goes on to achieve a great deal of firsts in Australia and helps kick start careers in Computing.

[@drjohnswilkins]

I prepared the pages for Pearcey's autobiographical history of Australian computing back in the 80s. Pearcey, T. (Trevor). A History of Australian Computing. Caulfield East, Vic: Chisholm Institute of Technology, 1988. Its only copy is at the Monash University Library in Caulfield.

[@michaelogden5958]

A room full of vacuum tubes for computer work. As I younger lad, I would have been in heaven! Those folks were some sharp cookies. Great little series on early Aussie computers!

[@michaeladams1789]

Fantastic stuff! This era of computing is so fascinating, and Australia's part in it is criminally under-documented.

[@maxxxy910]

they were able to recreate what had already been done.... govt simping for itself

[@xjet]

A huge thanks to State of Electronics for making these videos. Fantastic in every way. One can only imagine the sense of achievement felt by these early pioneers in the computing field.

[@landspide]

Wonderful!!! ❤❤❤ So proud of these early pioneers.

[@katachiaudio]

Nice to see this channel coming back with more content. I know it is hard but please keep it up, the infomration on this channel is priceless.

[@StateofElectronics]

Thank you, I am very glad you appreciate it.

[@projectartichoke]

What a great video, absolutely fascinating! And so well presented. I love the editing, it keeps it moving right along. Perfect!

[@StateofElectronics]

@@projectartichoke thank you. Its much appreciated :-)

[@PJRye]

Back in the 1960s, the University of Western Australia offered a postgraduate course entitled "Diploma in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing". I wondered where the "Automatic" part came from. Now I know.

[@NickThunnda]

I remember Mr Trevor Pearcey as a quiet, formidable presence on the stairs of the tallest tower at Chisholm institute of technology.

[@feedvid]

Excellent video! Very interesting seeing the progress of the earliest days of digital computing. 👍

[@hypercomms2001]

I remember seeing CSIRAC what was then Chisholm Institute of technology, that is now part of Monash University, Caulfield campus in the building that was on the corner of sir John Monash Drive. And the former Queens Avenue in about 1984. One day I hope one day someone gets it working again.

[@baronvonschnellenstein2811]

Its currently sat at Scienceworks. Someone has rigged a microcontroller or somesuch to the status lamps to make it a blinkenlights display. I too, hope that it is brought back up to "RWC" again - a good project for computer science and electronics engineering students!

[@hypercomms2001]

@ absolutely! If the British computer society can recreate “ colossus“… working from absolutely nothing… then this would be a piece of piss for a University student…. I would highly recommend that you approach either Melbourne Monash University., Swinburne University, or RMIT and write to head of the electrical, electronic engineering faculty in each university, and ask them for their help and to propose it as an engineering project for a group of students for their final year engineering project. I did my bachelor of electrical and electronic engineering at Chisholm Institute of technology, which is now part of Monish University. I can assure you these faculties would welcome such a project, with the possible extension of adding modern programming capabilities at a later date, such as a Bluetooth/USB interface,…

[@jhlagado1]

Fantastic! That was really interesting. That classic footage with Pearcey was amazing Steven Pass. Well done, Karl!

[@Agmash29a]

Amazing work!

[@RogerJordan-q1v]

So glad you are back

[@keithammleter3824]

interesting video, but why did they keep showing pictures of EDSAC? More information about CSIR Mk 1 would have been good - about the only thing we learn from this video is that it was a programmable computer using a mercury delay line memory. The early vacuum tube computers had an extraodinarily high fault rate - mean time between failure measured in hours. What was CSIR Mk 1's MTBF? What diagnostic facilities were provided? What concepts if any originated in it that later computers took advantage of? O was it just a dead end development?

[@tomgeorge3726]

Great to see you guys back making content. Can you do a follow up on Henry Sutton, now that the book has been published? A fascinating person and read.

[@StateofElectronics]

Thank you. Yes I am definitely planing to make an episode about Henry Sutton. After the Computer History of Australia concludes though

[@256byteram]

Stephen Jones' video rig there looks intriguing! Looking forward to the next installment.

[@larsbrinkhoff]

I hope a future episode will cover the PDP-6 at University of Western Australia.

[@StateofElectronics]

PDP’s will definitely be featured :-)

[@larsbrinkhoff]

@@StateofElectronicsvery good, looking forward to it! There were also some interesting developments with regards to the Logo programming language, especially in Tasmania. Look up Sandra Wills and the Tassie Turtle.

[@thunderc4s]

About time ❤

[@marcwolf60]

I have one of the SC/MP Microcomputers briefly shown ;)

[@non-human3072]

Nice

[@ColinMcCormack]

CSIRAC was defunded by CSIR because the money could be 'better spent' on cloud seeding research because (during the Korean War) Australia could make more money shipping wool to the US military for winter uniforms. The meeting minutes show some pseudonymous participants advising that we would be 'better off' allowing overseas companies to do the work (IBM and Ferranti were specifically mentioned.)

[@keithammleter3824]

That was most likely an honest and objective assessment. IBM, Univac and others were able to deploy huge resources and the best talent towards their developments. In the pioneer days depicted in this video, something world class could be designed and engineered by just a couple of very talented men beavering away for a few months, such as Wilkes or Flowers in England. but by the mid 1950's, the state of the art required a whole room full of advanced eggheads, directed by a top class project manager and admin support. It's like aircraft development: In the 1930's, a top class fighter plane like the Spitfire was developed by just 2 men - an aerodynamicist and a structural engineer. Post war, it took hundreds of engineering staff and tens of millions to develop a jet fighter. I worked for a large Australian company who did a lot of research and development in house, but also tried farming out some research to CSIRO. CSIRO's output was pretty disappointing really. Much of it completely useless. Such as a computer model of heat flow in a computer room that predicted heat flowed down to the floor. For climate data they just took a few months of BOM data for Melbourne (typical temperature 20 C). I asked what would happen in the north of WA (typical temperature 40 C). The boffin didn't know. I told the guy to go away and stick it up his fundamental. I probably wrote off $100k of investment on that.

[@ColinMcCormack]

@keithammleter3824 as I recall, Mk1 was built in 1948. I have no doubt it was an honest mistake: the chairman of that committee explained the reasoning to me, and I believe he was an honest and a good man. It was, nonetheless, a grotesque error of judgement

[@keithammleter3824]

@@ColinMcCormack According to David Horner's history of CSIRAC, it ran its first test programme in 1949. CSIRO defunded it in about 1964. By then IBM had SLT computers such as the System 360/70 in production. Could a few boffins in the CSIRO compete with that? No possible way. The 360 was VASTLY more powerful and came with a fully developed operating system and FORTRAN. Even the early 1950's IBM 704 was light years ahead of CSIRAC. It would be like the Wright brothers trying to compete with Boeing in the 1930's. Once computers became commercially available, it was proper for the CSIRO to only be involved as a user. My point in my earlier post is that Pearcey and Beard were pioneers who deserve enormous respect for being pioneers whose output was successful. Just as we respect the Wrights as pioneer aircraft engineers. But no way should the CSIRO should have stayed in the computer business. It should also be noted that running a large research organisation is enormously difficult. By that i mean produce valuable output. It is not something that governments ever do well. About the most successful has been the private Bell Labs. Bell Labs research has completely changed the life of everybody and completely changed industry worldwide. Here in Australia, the nearest equivalent was the PMG/Telecom Australia research organisation TRL. Hundreds of milllions were poured into it for decades but its output was negligible. It was shut down in about 1994. When you look at the impact on people and industry, the CSIRO has not been much better. If I was Prime Minister, I would defund the whole CSIRO and spend the money on universities and hospitals instead.

[@ColinMcCormack]

@keithammleter3824 It was decommissioned in 1955. The defunding meeting to which I refer took place in the early 50s. CSIRO could never compete with IBM (more pertinently, couldn't compete with the USA's military funding of IBM,) but could they have competed with Ferranti? I would think so. Your mentioning the 360, and analogy with Boeing are specious and ahistorical.

[@ColinMcCormack]

@keithammleter3824 there's more to the story: ahead of the decision to decommission the machine, a letter was sent to Pearcy's thesis supervisor in the UK soliciting opinion about Pearcy's capacity for the task. I have a copy of the reply, which is a comprehensive damning by faint praise after an expression of surprise at being asked (because the letter's author admits he has *no* expertise in the field.) I was given the letter with a caveat that I was not to make it public while Pearcy lived, as it would kill him. Mk1 was smothered in its cradle by spooky intervention from the USA and UK, by the old-boy's network, and by very poor decision-making.

[@jasonwooler801]

That intro music is hectic.

[@richardgray8593]

A lot of people, in the U.S. anyway, think that Steve Jobs invented computers.