<s>
The	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
(	O
Sydney	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Illinois	O
Automatic	O
Computer	O
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
Sydney	O
ILLIAC	B-Device
)	O
,	O
an	O
early	O
computer	O
built	O
by	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Sydney	O
,	O
Australia	O
,	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ILLIAC	B-Device
and	O
ORDVAC	B-Device
computers	O
developed	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
early	O
computers	O
,	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
was	O
physically	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
then	O
broken	O
up	O
,	O
some	O
pieces	O
of	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
are	O
at	O
the	O
Powerhouse	O
Museum	O
and	O
others	O
are	O
displayed	O
at	O
Sydney	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SILLIAC	B-Device
had	O
its	O
genesis	O
in	O
late	O
1953	O
when	O
Harry	O
Messel	O
,	O
the	O
dynamic	O
new	O
head	O
of	O
the	O
School	O
of	O
Physics	O
,	O
and	O
John	O
Blatt	O
,	O
newly	O
arrived	O
researcher	O
,	O
both	O
independently	O
realised	O
that	O
the	O
School	O
needed	O
an	O
electronic	O
computer	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
theoretical	O
physics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whilst	O
the	O
first	O
computer	O
in	O
the	O
southern	O
hemisphere	O
,	O
the	O
CSIR	B-Device
Mk	I-Device
1	I-Device
,	O
was	O
already	O
running	O
elsewhere	O
on	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Sydney	O
grounds	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
several	O
serious	O
impediments	O
to	O
its	O
use	O
by	O
the	O
School	O
of	O
Physics	O
:	O
The	O
CSIR	B-Device
Mk	I-Device
1	I-Device
was	O
fully	O
occupied	O
with	O
CSIR	O
research	O
and	O
John	O
Blatt	O
found	O
its	O
staff	O
very	O
unhelpful	O
;	O
and	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
serial	O
architecture	O
computer	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
far	O
too	O
slow	O
for	O
the	O
sort	O
of	O
problems	O
that	O
Blatt	O
and	O
Messel	O
envisaged	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
design	O
a	O
computer	O
from	O
scratch	O
,	O
Blatt	O
and	O
Messel	O
chose	O
to	O
copy	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
ILLIAC	B-Device
for	O
which	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
were	O
happy	O
to	O
provide	O
plans	O
and	O
assistance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Algie	O
,	O
then	O
maintenance	O
engineer	O
for	O
CSIRAC	B-Device
,	O
estimated	O
the	O
cost	O
at	O
AU£35	O
,	O
200	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
approximately	O
ten	O
times	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
a	O
Sydney	O
suburban	O
house	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SILLIAC	B-Device
's	O
eventual	O
cost	O
was	O
AU£	O
75,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SILLIAC	B-Device
's	O
first	O
scientific	O
computation	O
was	O
carried	O
out	O
by	O
PhD	O
student	O
Bob	O
May	O
(	O
later	O
Robert	O
May	O
,	O
Baron	O
May	O
of	O
Oxford	O
)	O
in	O
June	O
1956	O
,	O
after	O
self	O
tests	O
had	O
been	O
completed	O
successfully	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barry	O
de	O
Ferranti	O
,	O
a	O
pioneer	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
described	O
the	O
main	O
cabinet	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
as	O
about	O
2	O
metres	O
high	O
,	O
1	O
metre	O
deep	O
and	O
5	O
metres	O
long	O
with	O
glass	O
panels	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
and	O
light	O
switches	O
that	O
indicated	O
what	O
was	O
going	O
on	O
inside	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SILLIAC	B-Device
has	O
now	O
been	O
broken	O
up	O
into	O
pieces	O
with	O
parts	O
of	O
it	O
placed	O
on	O
display	O
in	O
the	O
Chau	O
Chak	O
Wing	O
Museum	O
,	O
which	O
opened	O
in	O
November	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
IAS	O
family	O
,	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
was	O
not	O
an	O
exact	O
copy	O
of	O
ILLIAC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
decision	O
significantly	O
improved	O
the	O
reliability	O
of	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
compared	O
to	O
its	O
contemporaries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
pieces	O
of	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
are	O
at	O
the	O
Powerhouse	O
Museum	O
and	O
others	O
are	O
displayed	O
at	O
Sydney	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
Australian	O
Computer	O
Museum	O
Society	O
was	O
seeking	O
alternative	O
storage	O
,	O
or	O
risked	O
its	O
collection	O
,	O
including	O
important	O
components	O
of	O
SILLIAC	B-Device
,	O
being	O
scrapped	O
.	O
</s>
