CSIRAC
CSIRAC, Australia's first digital computer, as displayed at the Melbourne Museum | |
| Also known as | CSIR Mk 1 |
|---|---|
| Developer | CSIRO |
| Type | Digital computer |
| Released | c.1949 |
| Units shipped | 1 |
CSIRAC (/ˈsaɪræk/; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer), originally known as CSIR Mk 1, was Australia's first digital computer, and the fifth stored-program computer in the world. It is the oldest surviving first-generation electronic computer (the Zuse Z4 at the Deutsches Museum is older, but was electro-mechanical, not electronic). It was the first computer to play digital music.
After it was retired, it was exhibited at Melbourne Museum for many years. Later it was relocated to Scienceworks in 2018 and is now on permanent display in the Think Ahead gallery. A comprehensive source of information about the CSIRA collection, its contributors and related topics is available from Museums Victoria on their Collections website.