Part 1: Getting Started
Adam Spencer introduces the story of SILLIAC, and traces its origins back more than 50 years to the School of Physics’ ties with the University of Illinois and their computer, ILLIAC. The ‘Sydney ILLIAC’ was privately funded, thanks to the generosity of Adolph Basser and his Melbourne Cup-winning horse, Delta.
Duration: 7’02 File size: 5.9 MB
Part 2: Building the Team
To build such a complex machine — and to tune and tame its 300 valves to keep it running —Messel needed a crack team of engineers. Swires, de Ferranti, Bennet, Blatt, Aplin and many others were the pioneers of computing in Australia.
Duration: 5’32 File size: 5.1 MB
Part 3: Up and Running
Completed ahead of schedule, SILLIAC was shown off to the public at the University’s Open Day in July 1956, playing tunes and challenging visitors to naughts-and-crosses. Then it was down to work: SILLIAC’s computing power was invaluable not just to the School of Physics, but to the University at large and more widely to business and industry.
Duration: 7’39 File size: 7 MB
Part 4: End of an Era
Running 24-7, SILLIAC was certainly in demand in the late 50s and well into the 60s — between novel computing applications and a widespread training program, SILLIAC was a springboard for IT in Australia. The aging computer was shut down in 1968 ... after playing its own death march!
Duration: 5’45 File size: 5.3 MB
SILLIAC: The Movie
In 1956, SILLIAC — the first Australian-built computer built within an Australian University — was switched on for the first time. In 2006, the University of Sydney celebrated SILLIAC’s 50th birthday with a two-day celebration event, including symposium, reunion and gala dinner. The Science Foundation for Physics put together a DVD of interviews with key people from the early days of SILLIAC as part of the celebration. The following four excerpts from these interviews tell some of the story of the early days of computing in Australia.
To view these videos, you need a recent version of Quicktime: get it here
