Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A dedicated showcase features the Ferranti Sirius which was installed at Monash
University in 1962. The basic Sirius CPU had 1000 words of store but could be ex-
panded with extra memory units with a 3000 word store. The Sirius on display has the
CPU with one extra memory cabinet. The Sirius uses acoustic delay line memory. All
input was through punch tape. The showcase also includes a Ferranti paper tape
reader, Ferranti Westrex paper tape punch, a Creed teletype and a Creed paper tape
reader set on a table. The display is supported by a short b/w film which was pro-
duced for the British Railways by Mr.S.E. Fargher in 1963. Fargher's film explains
the process of using the Sirius to solve a problem in simple language. The MMoCH
transferred the 4000 word machine to the Caulfield campus in 2005. A special com-
mittee was formed to help the museum prepare the machine for display and it was
relocated to Building B foyer. The committee members were volunteers including
Peter Thorne, Judy Hughes, Jurij Semkin and John Spencer. They cleaned the various
parts of the Sirius. These volunteers had experience with restoring CSIRAC for the
Melbourne Museum. The real-time clock was restored to working order by Chris
Avram and Bruce Gilligan.
The fourth part of the display features biographies of people associated with com-
puting at Monash University through management, teaching or research. The first
biographies examined the work of Professor Chris Wallace, Professor Cliff Bellamy
and Dr Andrew Prentice. Professors Wallace and Bellamy made significant contribu-
tions to the development of computing at Monash University. Cliff Bellamy had a
long association with the Monash Computer Centre in his role as Director from 1964
and then became the first dean of the current Faculty of Information Technology.
Professor Chris Wallace was Foundation Professor of the Department of Information
Science which was established at Clayton campus in the Faculty of Science in 1968.
More recently in April 2008 the display was updated to include material on the work
of Professor John Rosenberg and Professor David Abramson. These biographies fea-
ture equipment and publications as well as photographic and text displays.
3.3 Multimedia Project with Arts Faculty
Teaching the history of computing is widely accepted as an important way of helping
IT students to better understand their field. This was acknowledged in 1991 with the
inclusion of history modules in the ACM/IEEE curriculum for computer science [7].
While the Monash Museum of Computing History is a valuable resource for this pur-
pose, MMoCH staff are collaborating with staff from the Faculty of Arts on a Virtual
Museum Project (VMP) to further develop the MMoCH resource by bringing to life
the physical exhibits with computer-generated animation. Geoff Berry from the His-
tory Department developed a concept to connect different technology over a time-
frame. Daniel Simmonds and Dr Tom Chandler from the Multimedia Department,
Berwick campus, provided the technical multimedia component of the project.
The first stage of this project has been completed with the production of a short
video which covers a period from the mid 60s to the mid 70s. The development of
computer technology is illustrated through a story of space exploration. The 'virtual
tour' takes in the Ferranti Sirius, the PDP-9, and the hand-held HP-65 calculator. The
animated narrative places the technology in the context of current events, helping
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