Adelaide Observatory: 1855 - 1874
- Toner Stevenson
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
This is part 1 of a two-part series.
The history of Adelaide Observatory begins not with astronomy, but with the colonial ambition to connect a telegraph line between Australia and England. Charles Todd (1826 - 1910) was an astronomer, initially employed in 1841 at Greenwich Observatory as an astronomical computer under Astronomer Royal, Sir George Biddell Airy (1801-92) (1). He rose to Assistant Astronomer at Cambridge University Observatory from 1848-54 under James Challis (1803-82) (2) but he returned to Greenwich Observatory in 1854, again under Airy, where his interests expanded beyond astronomy to electricity and telegraphic communications (1). Airy was Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881 and he had a major influence over the astronomy appointments and activities across what was then the British Empire (2). In response to a request from the South Australian Government Airy recommended Todd to the Government of South Australia as the Government Astronomer and Superintendent of Telegraphs of South Australia (3).
Charles Todd: Superintendent of Telegraphs and Postmaster General
Todd, and his wife Alice Gillam Bell (1836 - 1898), arrived in Adelaide in 1855 (Fig 1). In the following year Todd connected Port Adelaide to the Adelaide city centre by telegraph (1).
By 1860 the Todds had built a substantial house (Fig 2) on the same site as smaller buildings that housed the observatory and meteorological equipment would later be constructed.
Todd is recognised for planning and overseeing the construction of the overland telegraph line from Adelaide through to Palmerston (now named Darwin) in the Northern Territory in historical records and place names (4). From Darwin there was an undersea link through to London. Completed in 1872, this was an incredible feat across 3,000 km, much of which was harsh landscape. In recent times historian Robyn Smith’s research has revealed that the construction of the telegraph line and later operation of the telegraph had a devastating impact on the Indigenous People who lived along the route (5). Todd was the South Australian Postmaster General, and from his Adelaide office, he gave authority to the actions of telegraph employees throughout South Australia and into what was known as the Northern Territory of South Australia (now a separately governed territory), including reprisals such as the one that occurred at Roper River, that resulted in the massacre of Aboriginal People (5). It is important to acknowledge that the construction of the telegraph line was considered as a major triumph, advancing the colony, but it also had detrimental impacts on First Nations People.
Government astronomer and meteorologist
Adelaide Observatory was initially a meteorological station, with meteorological equipment and housing constructed close to the Todd's home. But in 1867 Todd borrowed a small 3 ¼ inch transit telescope made by Troughton and Simms from the Victorian Government to observe the stars for timekeeping to provide time signals to the state (Fig 3).
By 1873 a transit building was constructed as an annexe to the residence as seen in Fig.4. Enthusiasm by Todd to conduct transit of Venus observations in 1874, and possibly Airy's influence, convinced the South Australian State Government to fund construction of a substantial astronomical dome and purchase an 8-inch equatorial telescope, made by Cooke and Sons of York (3). The telescope was constructed under Airy’s supervision (6). Todd observed the 1874 transit through the 8-inch equatorial telescope in the newly constructed circular building topped by a timber-framed done that rotated on cannonballs as seen in Fig. 5 (1).
Todd's observations of the 1874 transit of Venus and his analysis that the 'nebulous haze' he observed around the planet was the Venusian atmosphere was not the first time this effect had been observed and analysed (6). Todd's data was used in a report to the British Parliament in 1878 due to the accurate time he recorded, information that, with observations from other locations, could be used to determine the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, known as the Astronomical Unit (AU).
In part 2 you will read about the period from the next transit of Venus that occurred in 1882 to 1952 when Adelaide Observatory was
References and footnotes
1. Edwards, P.G. (1993) ‘Charles Todd and the Adelaide Observatory’, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 10(4), pp. 349–354. doi:10.1017/S1323358000026023.
2. Hutchins, R. (2008). British University Observatories 1772–1939 (1st ed.), Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315261263, p.71 and p.81.
3. Haynes, R., Haynes, R.D., Malin, D., McGee, R. (1996) Explorers of the Southern Sky: A History of Australian Astronomy, Cambridge University Press, pp. 81–86.
4. For example, the river that during wet months flows through Alice Springs is called the 'Todd' River, and the naming of Alice Springs after Todd's wife.
5. Smith, R. (2024) Licence to kill: massacre men of Australia's north, Historical Society of the Northern Territory, p.p.70-71, 74, 182, 364.
6. Edwards, P. G.(2004) “Charles Todd's observations of the transits of Venus”, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–7, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JAHH....7....1E
About the author
Toner Stevenson has a doctorate in the Social Sciences and she researches the history of astronomy in Australia, particularly the contribution of women, marginalised and lesser-known people. Her museum career includes manager, Sydney Observatory, the Powerhouse Ultimo, Head of House Museums for the Museums of History NSW and project manager, the Natural History Museum, London. Toner managed the school of Humanities at the University of Sydney and is a research affiliate with The University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, school of Humanities in the discipline of history.
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