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