Catching the Y2K bug

If you were around 27 years ago, you will remember the excitement (and panic) surrounding the turn of the millennium.

As the world braced for the end of our digitised economy, we sponsored some of the excitement, here in Perth.

Cities across the world installed ‘millennium count-down clocks’, to celebrate the once-in-a-thousand-year occasion. Those of you in Perth at the time may remember our very own in Forrest Chase.

This countdown clock became a perfect opportunity for us to remind community members to ‘Belt Up’, as we entered the millennium.

Being set-up and switched on by us, we hosted a party to celebrate the occasion. With a jazz band and sausage sizzle, politicians, media, school students, and curious lunch‑timers all gathered to take part.

Whilst we were publicly celebrating the turn of the millennium, our IT department was taking a less celebratory tone internally.

Digging back through the archives reveals a period of intense ‘Y2K testing’, with teams simulating the post‑midnight world: to make sure systems wouldn’t fall victim to the dreaded ‘millennium bug’.

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To the annoyance of our offices tech-enthusiasts, this thorough testing came at a cost: delaying the roll-out of a much-needed upgrade to our PC systems.

Waiting for the millennium bug to pass, they eagerly awaited our adoption of computers powerful enough to run the cutting-edge suite of Office 97 programs. A feat previously unachievable with the Insurance Commissions PCs.

Looking back 27 years later, the scene feels charmingly dramatic. On one hand, our I.T. department was defusing what some believed might be the downfall of digital civilisation; On the other, we were sponsoring a giant stopwatch, happily counting down the hours to our digital demise.

The Millennium Countdown Clock in Forrest Place, sponsored by the Insurance Commission and used to promote our road safety message Belt Up.