Vale: Ray Wilkie

Ray Wilkie, former meterologist and Network 10 weather presenter, has died at age 98.

Brisbane 4BC radio presenter Spencer Howson reported the news from Wilkie’s son on Saturday night. He was also the brother of former Sydney meteorologist and TV weather presenter Alan Wilkie.

After serving with the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War, Wilkie graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland before studied meteorology in Melbourne.

Wilkie worked with the Bureau of Meteorology for 35 years, including as Regional Director in Brisbane and in Darwin, repoertedly as the first BoM expert to make the leap to television.

From 1985, he became a weather presenter for Eyewitness News in Brisbane. He continued into the 1990s and gained a national profile when his forecasts featured in the national late night news bulletins.

In his 1988 book, Ray Wilkie’s Australian Weather, he recalled the events of Cyclone Tracy in 1974, as he continued to phone reports through to ABC as late as 2.30am as rain and wind belted through the smashed windows of the 7th floor offices.

He was involved in the development of the Tropical Cyclone Warning Service for northern Australia and wrote many papers for local and international publication.

In 1984 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for meteorological services to the community.

4BC’s Bill McDonald and Spencer Howson were also joined by former newsreaders Glenn Taylor and Kristin Devitt as well as War Historian Kieran McCarthy to remember Wilkie.

Source: TelevisionAU