Adelaide Observatory: 1882 - 1952

This is part 2 of a two-part series.

As discussed in the previous blog post, the South Australian Government Astronomer, Charles Todd, made interesting observations during the 1874 transit of Venus, and his timing was accurate despite the clouds that hampered some of his observations. Todd also successfully observed the 1882 transit of Venus from the town of Wentworth, in south west New South Wales as part of the group of astronomers determining longitude for different locations in Australia (1). Todd’s 1882 observations were made with a 4 ½ inch equatorial telescope that had belonged to Charles Babbage (1781-1871) renowned inventor of the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine, early computing machines (2,3). Babbage’s son, Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815-1878) who was an engineer and explorer, arrived in Australia in 1851. He was employed by Todd for contract management on the Overland Telegraph line (4) and this is possibly how the telescope came to be used by Todd.

By the 1880s Todd had proven Adelaide Observatory's proficiency in meteorology, surveying, timekeeping and research astronomy. But he was still using a borrowed transit telescope and this required replacement.

Fig. 1 caption: Transit room constructed in the 1880s with the Troughton and Sims transit telescope. Photograph c.1910 showing recently appointed Director, Richard Griffiths, courtesy State Library South Australia, B22764.

In 1881 the original transit room was replaced by a new structure fitted out to accommodate a substantial 6inch (152mm) aperture, 85 inches (2.2m) focal length transit telescope as seen in Fig. 1. With this instrument and associated equipment, and an increase in staff, the observatory could now collaborate with other observatories on determining star positions and other astronomical observations. Todd also installed seismology detectors, and, in 1900, he established the first wireless telegraphy station in Australia with his son-in-law, the future Nobel laureate, William Henry Bragg.

Involvement in the Astrographic Catalogue

In 1887 Through the transit of Venus observations, and the continued expansion of Adelaide Observatory and subsequent astronomical endeavours, Todd was well connected with the Government astronomers of Victoria and New South Wales.  In 1887 Sydney and Melbourne Observatorys committed to participate in two major international astrometry projects called the Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel (AC-CdC). Even though Adelaide Observatory did not take responsibility for an AC-CdC zone, Todd’s first Assistant Astronomer, William Ernest Cooke (1863-1947), undertook the positional and reference star work for the Melbourne Observatory zone (-65 deg to -90 deg). The existing Southern Hemisphere star catalogues were not extensive enough to provide the 12 reference stars required on each photographic glass plate (5).

The observing logbooks in the South Australian archives reveal that from 1890 to 1897, under the supervision by Cooke, half of the observations and all the calculations for the Melbourne zone reference star catalogue were performed by Mary Emma Greayer (1861-1910) as seen in Fig. 2 (5).

Fig. 2 : Adelaide Observatory staff c1895 (L to R) Charles Todd, William Ernest Cooke and Mary Emma Greayer, courtesy Perth Observatory, donated B. Minchin (uncatalogued), colourised

In 1892 a South Australian Astronomy Society was established with Todd as the president and Greayer joined the society, as did Todd's daughters Maude and Lorna (6). There were other well-known members including engineer Alexander Wilson Dobbie (1843-1912) (7). In 1897 Cooke left Adelaide Observatory and moved to Perth where he was appointed the Government Astronomer for Western Australia (6). In 1899 Greayer married the assistant astronomer Richard Griffiths and left the observatory, much to the disappointment of Todd because Greayer was a capable astronomer and human computer (6). In 1906 Griffiths succeeded Todd as the Government Astronomer but he resigned in 1907 to join the new Federal Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne. Greayer and Griffiths had four children and it seems that Greayer did not pursue astronomy further and she died in Victoria in 1910 (6).

A new era under George Dodwell

Fig. 3: George Dodwell and Annie Trehy on their wedding day in 1907, unknown photographer.

The next Government astronomer was George Frederic Dodwell (1879-1963), who was appointed in 1909 and with his wife, Annie Louisa Virginia Trehy (1870-1924), who was also a qualified scientist, a new era for Adelaide Observatory began (Fig.3). Dodwell's observations of three total solar eclipses have been documented by Lomb and Stevenson (8,9). From 1909, under Dodwell’s direction, Melbourne zone stars were once again observed and reference stars for the Sydney Zone (-51° to -60°) were observed between 1914 and 1920 (10).

Closure and demolition of Adelaide Observatory

The identification of meteorites, latitude variations, comets and other work continued through to when the observatory was determined by the State as no longer its responsibility. Its functions were , to some extent, taken over by the University of Adelaide in 1930 (11,12) but the promised Professor of Astronomy position did not eventuate for Dodwell, and he pressed on with few resources. At every step of the way Dodwell made public the significance of Adelaide Observatory as an historical site, and continuing relevance (12,13).

Fig. 4: Dome built at University of Adelaide in the 1960s, Photograph 1971, courtesy Adelaide University archive UA-00006720.

Demolition of Adelaide Observatory commenced in 1946 to make land available for Adelaide High School but according to the archival files, transit and other observations continued until 1948 (12) and Dodwell operated Adelaide Observatory in a reduced form until 1952 when he retired and the remaining buildings were demolished.

A new dome was constructed for the equatorial telescope at the University of Adelaide  (Fig.4) and the equatorial telescope by Cooke and Sons was relocated with enhancements (Fig.5).

Fig. 5: Equatorial telescope inside the University of Adelaide, Photograph 1971, courtesy Adelaide University archive UA-00006721.

In 2014 archaeological work on the old Adelaide Observatory site by archaeologist Dr Cameron Hartnell unearthed the foundations for the transit and equatorial telescope buildings and a plaque was installed in the new school building acknowledging the Adelaide Observatory astronomers, including Mary Emma Greayer (6).

References and footnotes

1. Lomb, N. (2011) Transit of Venus: 1631 to the Present, Sydney: NewSouth Books & Powerhouse Publishing, p.147 and p.163.

2. Anonymous (1882) 1882 'THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), 24 November, p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43327250

3. Edwards, P.G. (2007) ‘Alice's astronomical ancestry’, Astrophysical Masers and their Environments, 2007, vol. 242, pp. 1–6. doi:10.1017/S1743921307012483.

4. Symes,G.W. (1969) 'Babbage, Benjamin Herschel (1815–1878)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/babbage-benjamin-herschel-1550/text4195.

5. Stevenson, T. (2014) ‘Making Visible the First Women in Astronomy in Australia: The Measurers and Computers Employed for the Astrographic Catalogue’, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 31, p. e018. doi:10.1017/pasa.2014.12.

6. Stevenson, T. (2016) Measuring the stars and observing the less visible: Australia's participation in the Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel', University of Sydney, http://hdl.handle.net/2123/15762, p. 180, p.p. 195-199.

7. 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.

8. Lomb, N. Stevenson, T. (2023) Eclipse Chasers, CSIRO Publishing, p.p. 62-70, p.p. 96-99.

9. Stevenson, T. McMorrow, K. (2026) Eclipsed but not forgotten: two lesser-known Australian expeditions to the 1922 total solar eclipse. Historical Records of Australian Science 2026; HR25013. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR25013

10. State Records South Australia, (GRG 31/50 SRSA).

11. 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.

12. Edwards PG. The Adelaide Observatory after Todd. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 1994;11(2):206-210. doi:10.1017/S1323358000019925

13. Dodwell, G.F. (1932) 'ADELAIDE OBSERVATORY', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 23 April, p. 9., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46854385

For further research and to access a list of South Australian government records:

King, S. https://www.naa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/research-guide-government-records-south-australia.pdf

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.