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Where it all started

Our background in ICT starts in 1982 and the Policy and Research Division of the Attorney-General's Department (then the Law Department) of the Victorian State Government. The principal director of tekniche, Dr Dennis Perry, then Executive Officer of the Policy and Research Division, introduced an office system based around an MP/M server (Multi-user version of CP/M from Digital Research).

This system was used to manage the statistical analysis of the Freedom of Information returns and provide word processing for the office. WordStar, SuperCalc and dBase II were the office applications for word processing, spreadsheet and database work, respectively.

Our interests in the Internet go back to 1987, again with the principal, Dr Dennis Perry, now in the Ministerial Advisers Unit of the Premier's Office (Premier John Cain and later Joan Kirner).

In the Premier's Office, Perry planned, implemented and managed a sophisticated UNIX office systems network. It included one of the first major installations of WordPerfect Office 3.1 for UNIX. The network hardware included NCR 3445 and Motorola 3300 UNIX hosts.

The network serviced the Premier's Private Offices in the Department and Parliament House, the Ministerial Advisers Unit and the Premier's Press Office. It was designed to meet the special communication and information needs of the Office of the Premier, while providing a high-quality word-processing environment.

The system was totally independent of the Premier's Departmental LAN, which was a simple NetWare 2.x, and later a 3.x, installation. The equipment in the Premier's office was years ahead of anything in use anywhere in the Victorian government.

The NCR 3445 was the Office Automation server, running WordPerfect Office 3.1 (for e-mail and related functions) and WordPerfect 5 for word processing on the PCs. Besides the Ethernet connections, it had 40 serial devices attached including Wyse terminals, PCs running terminal emulation, or a TCP/IP stack, PostScript laser printers and data/fax modems.

Statistical Multiplexers were used with D-Term telephone and data modems to provide the first computer link between the Premier's Offices in Treasury Place and Parliament House. The Premier's personal staff logged in from Parliament House and urgent messages were sent via e-mail.

The Motorola 3300 UNIX host was the Database and Communications server. From within the word processor application, users could retrieve a press release or current affairs material that had been uploaded by modem to the Motorola. An e-mail message on the NCR notified users that new material had arrived on the system.

The system ran continuously, with current affairs material being uploaded three times a day: a breakfast news summary, a midday update and a comprehensive review of evening news and current affairs uploaded in the evening. Staff could login remotely at night and work from home when needed.

In-coming press releases were checked and then uploaded, again from within the word processor. They were sent to AAP in Sydney for distribution via MediaNet, or broadcast using data/fax modems, with the TruFax software. This site was the first in Victoria with a WordPerfect-TruFax interface.

At Perry's insistence, AAP added an error-correction protocol (Kermit) to their MediaNet communications system.

The Motorola also ran several Titan databases including the first installation of the Titan/Media AAP news service. This displayed AAP news releases that matched tailored user news "profiles" on active terminals: an example of an Executive Information System (EIS) for media staff, or a "real-time" electronic newspaper for other users.

The news releases were stored in a Titan database for 7 days. The textbase held 5,000 articles on average that represents an annual turnover of 250,000 records in a year. News releases over 7 days old were purged from the database and the database rebuilt and reindexed overnight. This was a joint development with Knowledge Engineering.

Knowledge Engineering has continued to use the basic post-SQL database engine that powered Titan, but now specialise in vertical markets such as the the natural history museums of the world, and the software runs in museums here and overseas, including the Smithsonian

Following the election in 1992, this sophisticated network system was referred to obliquely in The Age. On 7 October, 1992 Hugo Kelly reported an incoming coalition staff member complaining that:

"… the ALP Government media unit had stripped their rooms of virtually everything - including their computer system, apparently Labor's own property" (The Age, Wednesday 7 October, 1992, p17).

This was not the case, for as system administrator, Perry had shutdown the system down on Sunday afternoon following the election. Staff in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet started removing the network on Monday 5 October, 1992.

Robyn Dixon commented on 10 October, 1992:

"The first press release of the new Opposition said it all … The slick word processor production of the days of power was gone." (The Age, Saturday 10 October, 1992) "

The network was registered with the Network Information Centre (NIC) in the US as vicgov.oz.au and was the first Victorian Government Department with an Internet address. uucp connections were used to other sites for electronic mail and file transfer. Widespread Internet connectivity for Federal and State governments commenced several years later.

The Premier's Office in Victoria was connected to the Internet in 1989. Joan Kirner was the first State Premier with an Internet e-mail address.

With the change of government in 1992, Dr Perry left the Victorian Government. He started tekniche in 1993 to continue a pattern of innovation in ICT at a national level.

Comments about this site: webmaster@tekniche.com.au
Last modified Saturday, 16 June 2007