Former Goulburn journalist Ian Frazer writes 'Rain God' book

The "very English" 19th century meteorologist, Clement Wragge, provided just the inspiration for his latest book, Rain God.

Frazer describes his subject as Australia's first celebrity meteorologist with 21st century fears. As he explains, the Federation drought tipped him from "orthodox meteorology into speculative sunspot-watching, long-range forecasting and rainmaking rocketry."

An interest in land conservation, hours of research and a gifted pile of newspaper articles only deepened his curiosity.

"He presented as a crackpot and that appealed to me. He was a person who had a reputation as having much more to him than met the eye," he said.

"He is remembered 120 years on and is interesting from a historical point of view."

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The result is a 478-page book, subtitled The Highs and Lows of Clement Wragge, Meteorologist with a Mission. The work took 12 years to write and publish, in between balancing family and other interests.

Mr Frazer is well known in Goulburn. He and brothers, Graham and Norman, grew up at Collector, the sons of Ted and Rose Frazer. Rose was a highly regarded music teacher and Eisteddfod stalwart. Ted was a scoutmaster and died when the boys were young.

Following his education at Collector, Yarra and Albury, in 1972 Ian took up a three-year cadetship at The Goulburn Evening Post under Ray Leeson's editorship. He said he was grateful to the late Mr Leeson for his training.

Stints at The Canberra Times, Warwick in Queensland and another year back at The Goulburn Post followed. From 1996 he worked for News Limited publications, including the Townsville Bulletin, as journalist, features writer and relieving editor.

In between, Mr Frazer wrote God's Maverick about self-taught PNG missionary, Edwin Tscharke, which was published by Albatross Books in 1993.

He retired in 2016 to spend more time with wife, Di, and family.

But the writing bug never left.

Clement Wragge was ripe fodder. Born in 1852 in England, he visited Sydney and spent time working in the South Australian Surveyor General's department. He also studied meteorology and returned to England to establish weathers stations, the Australian Dictionary of Biography stated.

He did the same on his return to South Australia and was appointed Queensland's meteorological observer in 1887. Wragge also founded the Australasian Meteorological Society and built Australia's highest observatories at Ben Nevis and Kosciuszko.

Murray Leith Allen, a retired, Eton-trained, Goulburn teacher, took charge of Wragge's Kosciuszko observatory during the harsh winter months of 1900.

"Wragge is still remembered throughout Queensland," Mr Frazer said.

"He started the practice of naming cyclones and even experimented with rain making, which wasn't very successful."

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He was known "somewhat derisively" as 'The Rain God.'

Mr Frazer said Wragge campaigned against land clearing, which he believed worsened droughts, and advocated revegetation and water conservation schemes.

The author examined what he described as the "paradoxes" of Wragge's life. He was "an ambitious self-taught weatherman, itinerant scientist lecturer, ardent theophanist and devotee of seances."

In his many travels in the early 1900s, Wragge visited Goulburn and Crookwell.

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Reflecting on the writing craft, Mr Frazer said the practice itself was hard.

"It's like bashing bits of iron together and saying what you need to without being cliched," he said.

"...It's a great challenge. I always feel I have something to say about my experience as a human being and writing gives you a chance to share that."

Mr Frazer will hold several book launches, including one at Paperchain bookstore, Manuka, on Thursday June 1. On the way, he'll catch up with family and friends in Goulburn and Collector.

"I'm looking forward to doing a Saturday morning Parkrun (coordinated by nephew, Jaemin)," the keen runner said.

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