1926 Replacement of the NSW Government Astronomer   William Cooke in his office at Sydney Observatory soon after his appointment in 2012. Town and Country Journal , Wednesday 21 August 1912, p34. Colourised image.   William Ernest Cooke (1863–1947) had been the NSW Government Astronomer since 1912, when in 1925 the state government decided to close Sydney Observatory and abolish Cooke’s position. A new premier of NSW, the fiery Jack Lang (1876–1975), wanted to close the Obser

The Great Melbourne Telescope sketched in the Adelaide Post , 19 May 1868.   From many years from 1869 onwards, the City of Melbourne could boast of having the largest steerable telescope in the world. Known as the Great Melbourne Telescope, it was truly large with a total weight of 10 tonnes and a tube that was nine-metres long. The Irish telescope makers Thomas and Howard Grubb of Dublin, had built the huge telescope, under the supervision of a committee of eminent British

The Perth Observatory's visitor telescope

Perth Observatory Standard Astrograph with Mr. Hyman Solomon Spigl – Perth Observatory Archives P129-1 (Copy Government Printing Office D9925) The Perth Observatory’s 13-inch* Sir Howard Grubb ‘Standard’ Astrographic telescope arrived in Western Australia aboard the steamship Devon  in early 1898. Western Australia’s first Government Astronomer, William Ernest Cooke, was interviewed by The West Australian  newspaper in Albany on 6 November 1897, shortly after returning from E

The Perth Observatory's 6-inch* Troughton & Simms Meridian Reversible Transit Circle arrived in Australia in 1898 and was immediately put to work. Its first use was to set the State's latitude & longitude, as well as the State's standard time; from 1901 it was then used to create a standard star reference frame of 420 stars for the Perth Astrographic Catalogue covering the declination zone -32°S to -40°S. The Perth Observatory in Western Australia provided a crucial southern

This is a compelling summary of the history of Perth Observatory.

This is a new website devoted to the history of Australian astronomy.

The opening of the Australia Telescope in September 1988. Photo Nick Lomb The opening of the Australia Telescope in 1988 was very...

The 3.9 Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory pictured in 2012. Photo Nick Lomb This telescope, built jointly by the...

Ballarat Observatory. Photo Nick Lomb. Ballarat observatory, in the state of Victoria, opened in 1886 as the first municipal...