Sir Thomas Brisbane's legacy to colonial science: Colonial astronomy at the Parramatta Observatory, 1822-1848

Historical Records of Australian Science

Volumn 15, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 177-209

  Saunders, Shirley D ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY   (Australia)

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EID: 55449137683     PISSN: 07273061     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1071/hr04009     Document Type: Review

References (288)

1. For biographical information on Brisbane, see W. Tasker (ed.), Reminiscences of General Sir Thomas Brisbane (Edinburgh, 1860);
2. A. Bryson, 'Memoir of General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, G.C.B., etc., President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22 (1861), 589-605;
3. C. A. Liston, New South Wales under Governor Brisbane, 1821-1825, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Sydney, 1980;
4. C. Liston, 'Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane a Background Study', Descent, 11 (Part 1, March 1981), 4-16;
5. 'Family Tree of Eleanor Bruce', Brisbane Papers, ML MSS 1191/3X;
6. J. Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, fifth edition, (London, 1871), pp. 143-144;
7. W. Fraser, Family Tree of the Brisbanes of Bishopton, the Makdougalls of Makerstoun and the Hays of Alderston, (Edinburgh, 1840);
8. Dictionary of National Biography, (London, 1885-1886), VI, pp.1261-1264;
9. C. C. Gillispie (ed.), Dictionary of Scientific Biography, (New York, 1976), II, pp.471-472;
10. for obituaries see Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, 4 (1859-1860), 119-123;
11. The Gentleman's Magazine, 1 (1860), 298-302;
12. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 21 (1860-1861), 98-101;
13. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 11 (1862), iii-vii. For archival sources relating to Sir Thomas Brisbane and the Parramatta Observatory see for example: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia - Banks to Brisbane, fragment only, n.d. [1817?], MLDOC 1967; Brisbane Letters, Miscellaneous, (c. 1821), ML DOC 1967; (1822), ML C. 133; (1823), ML DOC 834; (1824), ML Ab58/10; Brisbane Papers - Correspondence, Military and Family Papers 1802-1859, MSS 1191/1, 2, 3X; Brisbane papers 1812-1837 (Microfilm of the Nan Kivell Collection), FM4/1626; Brisbane Papers 1815-1830 (Maggs Purchase), UCMSS 419 Part 1; Brisbane Papers 1818-1845 (Sotheby Purchase), UCMSS 419 Part 2; Brisbane's Correspondence with Michael Bruce, 1819-1825, UCMSS 329; Brisbane's Letter Books, 1822-1825, A1559/1, 2, 3; T. Brisbane, 'Undated communication on the figure of the Earth', ML MSS 419/2, Item 5; Royal Society, London, United Kingdom: Archived papers, AP II, 5a-j, letters 1822-1825, from Sir Thomas Brisbane concerning the Parramatta Observatory and C. C. L. Rümker; Domestic Archives, DM4, 65-111, letters and papers on the dispute between Sir Thomas Brisbane and C. C. L. Rümker.
14. For biographical details of Rümker, see G. F. J. Bergman, 'Christian Carl Ludwig Rümker (1788-1862): Australia's First Government Astronomer', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 46 (Part 5, 1960), 247-289;
15. The Town and Country Journal, 15 November 1890, 27-30;
16. Dictionary of Australian Biography (Sydney, 1949), II, 293-294;
17. The Australian Encyclopaedia (Sydney, 1965), VII, pp. 518-519;
18. Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 2, pp. 403-404.
19. For biographical details of Dunlop, see X Service, Thir Notandums (Edinburgh, 1890);
20. J. Jervis, 'Historical Notes on the Lives of George Caley, James Dunlop, and Reverends W.B. Clarke and Wm. Wools', Parramatta and District Historical Society Journal and Proceedings, 3 (1926), 39-48;
21. Dictionary of National Biography (London, 1885-1886), VI, pp. 206-207;
22. Australian Biographical Dictionary (Sydney, 1934), p.109;
23. Dictionary of Australian Biography (Sydney, 1949), I, pp. 258-259;
24. Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. I, p. 338.
25. See W. Dawes correspondence with Dr N. Maskelyne (Astronomer Royal) during the establishment of an observatory at Port Jackson, New South Wales, 1786-1792, The Board of Longitude Papers, MS.RGO.14/48, Documents pp. 239-308, The Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England; P. M. Chisholm and T. Tooth, The Dawes Observatory 1788-1791 (Somersby, 1975);
26. P. S. Laurie, 'William Dawes', unpublished paper, Royal Greenwich Observatory, n.d.. Copy at the Library, Old Sydney Town, Somersby, New South Wales, Australia;
27. P. S. Laurie, 'William Dawes, and Australia's First Observatory', Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 29(4) (1988), 469-482.
28. For biographical details of William Dawes (1762-1836) see A. Currer-Jones, William Dawes R. M. 1762 to 1836 (Torquay, 1930), (the author was Dawes' great-granddaughter);
29. 'Biographical Notes on Lieutenant William Dawes', Research Department, Public Library of New South Wales, ML Doc. 1225.
30. Dawes' son was William Rutter Dawes (1799-1868), the astronomer, Dictionary of National Biography, V, pp. 667-669.
31. The Philosophical Society of Australasia was formed on 27 June 1821 by seven of the colonial gentry 'for the purpose of collecting information with respect to the natural state, capabilities, productions and resources of Australasia and the adjacent regions, and for the purpose of publishing, from time to time, such information as is likely to benefit the world at large' ('A copy of the complete minutes of the Philosophical Society of Australasia, 1821-1822', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 55 (1921), lxviii).
32. Dawes to Maskelyne, 8 June 1792, Board of Longitude Papers, loc. cit. (note 4).
33. Brisbane was aware that Australian marsupials revealed significant deviations from 'the usual types of forms which nature employed in the formulation of the animal kingdom' (M. Hoare, Science and Scientific Associations in Eastern Australia, 1820-1890, unpublished PhD thesis, Australian National University, 1974, p. 37,
34. cited by R. MacLeod, 'On Visiting the "Moving Metropolis": Reflections on the Architecture of Imperial Science', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5(3) (1982), 1-16, p. 10).
35. In the observatory there was a fireplace and a bed where Brisbane rested in between observations and he rose at dawn every morning to make readings (Tasker, Historical Records of Australian Science, op. cit. [note 1], pp. 66-67). For details of Brisbane's 1808 observatory, see the accompanying paper by Alison Morrison-Low.
36. Tasker, Historical Records of Australian Science, op. cit. (note 1), p. 13.
37. In three years, from 1795 to 1798, when he returned from the West Indies at the age of twenty-one, Brisbane had purchased a set of navigational instruments and claimed that he could determine the ship's position as accurately as the professional seamen. 'I got the best books and instruments, and, in time, became so well acquainted with these sciences that, when I was returning home, I was enabled to work the ship's way' (Tasker, Historical Records of Australian Science, ibid., p. 14).
38. The instruments were a 10 pocket sextant, chronometer and artificial horizon (Tasker, Historical Records of Australian Science, ibid., pp. 34-35,
39. and T. Brisbane, 'A Method of Determining Time with accuracy from a series of altitudes of the Sun, taken on the same side of the Meridian', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 8 [Part 2] [1818], 497-506).
40. See also Bryson, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, op. cit. (note 1), pp. 590-593;
41. Account for Equipment, Adams to Brisbane, 15 June, 1798, Brisbane Papers, Munro Collection, Tin Trunk, cited by Liston, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, op. cit. (note 1), (1980), p. 16.
42. J. B. Hewson, A History of the Practice of Navigation (Glasgow, 1951), p. 257.
43. An error of one arc minute in distance of a star from the Moon caused by the ability of the observer, the instruments themselves or the accuracy of the tables led to an error of half a degree of longitude (30 miles or 54 kilometres) (D. Howse, Nevil Maskelyne, the Seamen's Astronomer (Cambridge, 1989), p. 30).
44. Tasker, Nevil Maskelyne, the Seamen's Astronomer (op. cit. (note 1), pp. 14, 66.
45. T. Brisbane, Tables for Determining the Apparent Time From the Altitudes of the Sun and Stars (Paris, 1818).
46. D. B. Hermann, The History of Astronomy from Herschel to Hertzsprung (Cambridge, 1984), p. 51.
47. Tasker, The History of Astronomy from Herschel to Hertzsprung (op. cit. (note 1), p. 61.
48. Brisbane discussed this issue with Laplace (Brisbane to Calvert, 6 September 1815, ML MSS 1191/1, No. 59; T. Brisbane, 'Undated communication on the figure of the Earth', ML MSS 419/2, Item 5) (see note 1).
49. Later, in the 1820s, Brisbane discussed this question with Arago (Brisbane to [Arago?], 4 April 1821, Brisbane/Arago Correspondence, Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, Paris, cited by Liston, Undated Communication on the Figure of the Earth op. cit. (note 1), (1980), p. 463.
50. Brisbane brought a copy of this work to New South Wales and it became part of the legacy of the Parramatta Observatory (Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 660).
51. J. Ivory, 'On the grounds of the method which Laplace has given in the second Chapter of the third Book of his Mécanique Céleste for computing the attractions of spheroids of every description', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 102 (1812), 1-82.
52. F. Watson, Introduction, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XI, p. x.
53. Hermann, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 13), p. 52.
54. Newton's theory had already been confirmed during the period from 1735 to 1744 when the Académie des Sciences mounted expeditions to Peru and Lapland to measure two arcs of the meridian to compare with the length of a degree obtained by Picard and J. Cassini in France (I. Todhunter, A History of the Mathematical Theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth From the Time of Newton to that of Laplace [London, 1873], Vol. 1, p. 93).
55. D. S. Evans, 'Historical Notes on Astronomy in South Africa', Vistas in Astronomy, 9 (1967), p. 273;
56. H. Spencer Jones, General Astronomy (London, 1924), p. 16.
57. Evans, General Astronomy (ibid., pp. 273-4.
58. H. Kater, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 113 (1823), p. 324.
59. Brisbane, Undated communication on the figure of the Earth, ML MSS 419/2, Item 5 (see note 1). For an account of this method see A. Pannekoek, A History of Astronomy (London, 1961), pp. 259, 263.
60. Brisbane to Calvert, 6 September 1815, MLMSS 1191/1, No. 59 (see note 1); Hermann, A History of Astronomy (op. cit. (note 13), p. 52.
61. Evans, A History of Astronomy (op. cit. (note 20), p. 273;
62. B. Warner, Astronomers at the Royal Observatory Cape of Good Hope (Cape Town, 1979), p. 50.
63. Brisbane to Calvert, 6 September 1815, MLMSS 1191/1, No. 59 (see note 1).
64. Brisbane, Undated communication on the figure of the Earth, ML MSS 419/2, Item 5 (see note 1). Brisbane provided a list of the instruments required: 'three chronometers; one azimuth compass; two marine barometers; three sextants and quadrants; two reflecting circles; two repeating reflecting circles; one dipping compass; patent leads etc.; one portable transit of three feet; one astronomical clock and journeyman; one repeating circle of fifteen inches; two portable barometers decimally divided; one syphon barometer as a standard to compare these; several small instruments required in artificial horizons; hygrometers and thermometers and the frame of a portable Observatory would [be] essential with a few tents'.
65. Brisbane claimed that he already had 'most of the apparatus required for such an undertaking' (Brisbane to Calvert, 6 September 1815, MLMSS 1191/1, No. 59 [see note 1]).
66. T. Brisbane, Undated communication on the figure of the Earth, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, ML MSS 419/2, Item 5 (see note 1).
67. T. Brisbane, Undated communication on the figure of the Earth, Ibid.
68. Brisbane to [the Duke of Wellington], 8 June 1815, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, ML MSS 419/1, No. 1 (see note 1).
69. Tasker, Undated Communication on the Figure of the Earth op. cit. (note 1), p. 85; Brisbane to H.R.H. [the Duke of York?], 8 June 1815, Brisbane Papers, ML UCMSS 419, Part 1 (see note 1); Banks to Brisbane, fragment only, n.d. [1817?], Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, ML DOC 1967 (see note 1).
70. Banks to Brisbane, Tasker, Undated Communication on the Figure of the Earth op. cit. (p. 85; Brisbane to H.R.H. [the Duke of York?], 8 June 1815, Brisbane Papers, ML UCMSS 419, Part 1 (see note 1); Banks to Brisbane, fragment only, n.d. [1817?], Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, ML DOC 1967 (see note 1). ibid.
71. Wellington to Brisbane, 6 December 1819, Brisbane Papers, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, ML UCMSS 419, Part 2, No. 13 (see note 1).
72. D. Gill, A History and Description of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (London, 1913), pp. vi, vii;
73. H. T. Colebrooke, State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822 (London, 1823), p. 354.
74. 'Instructions to the Astronomer at the Cape Observatory', cited in Gill, State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822 (ibid., p. ix;
75. Warner, State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822 (op. cit. (note 25), pp. 4-11.
76. Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society, London, A. P. II, 5e (see note 1). Sir Humphry Davy was President of the Royal Society of London, 1820-1827.
77. T. Brisbane, 'A Method of determining the Time with Accuracy, from a Series of Altitudes of the Sun, taken on the same side of the Meridian', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 8 (1818), 497-506;
78. T. Brisbane, 'Table for determining accurately the Time of High Water at any given Port', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 4 (1821), 54-56;
79. T. Brisbane, 'Memoir on the Repeating Reflecting Circle', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 9 (1823), 97-102;
80. T. Brisbane, 'Method of determining the Latitude, by a Sextant or Circle, with simplicity and accuracy, from Circummeridian Observations, taken near Noon', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 9 (1823), 227-234.
81. While in the service of the British Royal Navy (1813-1819) Rümker established himself as a competent astronomer with work published in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal and Monatliche Correspondenz. During his Mediterranean service in 1818 and 1819 Rümker met two people who helped to shape his career. The first was Baron Von Zach, astronomer and editor of the early astronomical journal, Monatliche Correspondenz (1800), who recognised Rümker's astronomical talent and published his first paper on the solar eclipse of 5 May 1818. The other was Peter Heywood, a former Bounty mutineer, whom Rümker met during his service on HMS Montague. ML DOC A.H. 54 (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia) shows that Rümker and Heywood were in continuous correspondence. After his discharge from the Royal Navy in May 1819, Rümker sought advice from Heywood on avenues of publication of his work in Britain. It was Heywood who suggested the new Edinburgh Philosophical Journal 'as the best medium by which useful information might be introduced to general notice' (Rümker, 'Observation of several Occultations of Fixed Stars by the Moon in 1818 and 1819, and of the Solar Eclipse of the 5th May 1818 made at La Valette in Malta', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1 (1818), 280-282, p. 280), because its principal object was to be 'the promotion of science'.
82. Meanwhile Rümker returned to his native Germany to try to advance an astronomical career in Hamburg. In September 1819, he was elected as teacher in the School of Navigation (Bergman, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. [note 2], pp. 249, 250). From Hamburg Rümker began to correspond with prominent British and Continental scientists. Through these efforts and his publications Rümker's work was quite well known when Brisbane was intending to found an observatory in New South Wales.
83. Brisbane to Kater, 6 November 1824, Royal Society Manuscript, A. P. 11 5f (see note 1).
84. Service, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal op. cit. (note 3), p. 135.
85. T. Brisbane, 'An Account of Experiments made with an Invariable pendulum at New South Wales', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 113 (1823), 308-325;
86. Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 10(1824), 181-182.
87. C. Rümker, 'Observations and remarks made on a passage from New South Wales to England', Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of London, 1 (No.29, 11 June 1830), 183-186 in which were reported 'Observations of the variation and dip, made on the passage outwards by Sir Thomas Brisbane and Mr. Rümker, in 1821, round the Cape of Good Hope', 183-184;
88. J. Dunlop, 'An Account of Observations made in Scotland on the Distribution of Magnetic Intensity', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 12 (1834), 1-2. This paper explains the method, using Hansteen's magnetic charts.
89. J. Macarthur Jnr to E. Macarthur, 30 May 1821, Macarthur Papers ML A2911 (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia); R. Crawford to H. Crawford, 1 August 1821, Brisbane Papers, G. A. Ardgowan 295; Liston, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, op. cit. (1980) (note 1), pp. 44, 45.
90. The initial seven were: James Bowman, Principal Surgeon of Sydney Hospital; Dr Henry Douglas, Superintendent of the Parramatta General Hospital; Barron Field, Judge of the Supreme Court of Civil Jurisdiction in New South Wales; Major Frederick Goulburn, Colonial Secretary; Captain Irvine; Edward Wollstonecraft, merchant; and John Oxley, Surveyor General. The additional six members were: Patrick Hill, Surgeon of the Royal Navy; William Howe Esquire; Lieutenant Phillip Parker King; Alexander Berry Esquire; M. C. Rümker; and Donald Macleod, Staff Surgeon. See R. H. Cambage, 'Biographical Sketches of Some of the Members of the Philosophical Society of Australasia', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 55 (1921), Abstracts, xxiii-xlii);
91. 'A copy of the complete minutes of the Philosophical Society of Australasia, 1821-1822', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 55 (1921), lxviii, lxxii, lxxv, lxxxii, lxxxv, lxxxviii, lxxxviii, xc, xcii;
92. T. Brisbane, 'Various Memoirs and Tables of astronomical and other calculations' (Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Ibid., xcvi)
93. and C. Rümker, 'The Importance of Astronomical Observations in the Southern Hemisphere', (Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Ibid., xciv).
94. A. P. Elkin, 'The Challenge to Science, 1866; The Challenge of Science, 1966', in Royal Society of New South Wales, A Century of Scientific Progress, (Sydney, 1968), p. 14.
95. Bergman, A Century of Scientific Progress, (op. cit. (note 2), pp. 254, 255, 281.
96. Service, A Century of Scientific Progress, (op. cit. (note 3), pp. 163, 165.
97. Bergman, A Century of Scientific Progress, (op. cit. (note 2), p. 255.
98. W. Richardson, A Catalogue of 7385 Stars, Chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere, Prepared from Observations made in the Years 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825 and 1826, at the Observatory at Parramatta, New South Wales, founded by LieutenantGeneral Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane. Printed by order of the Lords of the Admiralty by William Clowes (London, 1835), Preface, pp. iii-iv, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Q523.89/2A2.
99. Brisbane to Craufurd, 18 May 1822. Public Record Office, Kew, United Kingdom (PMG 1 Letters 1784-1867, Vol. for 1822-1823); Liston, A Catalogue of 7385 Stars, Chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere, Prepared from Observations made in the Years 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825 and 1826, at the Observatory at Parramatta, New South Wales, founded by LieutenantGeneral Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane. op. cit. (1980) (note 1), p. 20;
100. J. Nangle, The Sydney Observatory. Its History and Work (Sydney, 1930), p. 8;
101. Richardson, The Sydney Observatory. Its History and Work (op. cit. (note 50), pp. iii-iv;
102. Tasker, The Sydney Observatory. Its History and Work (op. cit. (note 1), pp. 66, 76.
103. P. P. King, J. A. Gordon and R. Rogers, 'Report in their official capacity as Commissioners appointed by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Charles FitzRoy, to examine the state of the Observatory and make an inventory of the instruments and books, April 14', Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV (1947), 659-661.
104. The Cape instruments were to be a 10-foot transit by Dollond (to measure right ascension) and a 6-foot mural circle by Thomas Jones (to measure declination). A 24-foot zenith sector by Troughton was requested (to measure latitudes very accurately) but nothing came of it (Gill, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. [note 35], p. xi;
105. Warner, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. [note 25], p. 2).
106. C. Rümker, 'Astronomical Observations made at the Observatory at Parramatta', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 119 (Part 3 1829), 1-152, pp. iv, 2.
107. J. Brinkley, 'The results of computations on Astronomical Observations made at Parramatta, in New South Wales, under the direction of Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C.B.; and the application thereof to investigate the exactness of Observations made in the Northern Hemisphere', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 106;
108. Rümker, Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, op. cit. (note 54), 56ff;
109. T. Brisbane, 'Observations of the Solstice in June, 1823, made at Parramatta, New South Wales', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826) 63-64;
110. T. Brisbane, 'Observations of the Solstice with Reichenbach's Circle, in December, 1823 at Parramatta', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 66-76;
111. T. Brisbane and C. Rümker, 'Observations on the winter solstice of 1823 at Parramatta', Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1 (1824), 39-40.
112. J.F.W. Herschel, 'An Address delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Astronomical Society of London, on February 8 1828, on presenting the honorary medals to Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Macdougal Brisbane and James Dunlop, Esq.', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 3 (1829), 403.
113. W.W. Bryant, A History of Astronomy (London, 1907);
114. G. F. Chambers, Handbook of Descriptive and Practical Astronomy (Oxford, 1889-1890), Vol. 1, pp. 416-424.
115. For biographical details of Encke see: C. C. Bruhns, Johann Franz Encke (Leipzig, 1869);
116. Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. IV, p. 369.
117. G. B. Airy (trans.), On Encke's Comet: Encke's Dissertation contained in No. CCX and CCXI of the Astronomische Nachrichten (Cambridge, 1832);
118. G. W. Dunnington, Carl Friedrich Gauss: Titan of Science: A Study of His Life and Work (New York, 1955);
119. Encyclopaedia Britannica, ninth edition, 1875-1889, p. 814;
120. S. Newcomb, Popular Astronomy (London, 1883), p. 375;
121. A. Guillemin, The Heavens: An Illustrated Handbook of Popular Astronomy (London, 1876), p. 244.
122. Anonymous, 'Comet of Encke rediscovered in New South Wales', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 9 (1823), 193;
123. Anonymous, 'History of the Rediscovery of Encke's Comet', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 9 (1823), 391.
124. Chambers, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. (note 57), vol. 1, pp. 416-417.
125. Gill, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. (note 35), p. ix;
126. Warner, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. (note 25), p. 11.
127. Richardson, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. (note 50), p. iii;
128. T. Brisbane and C. Rümker, 'Astronomical Observations made at Parramatta and Sydney, 1823', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 10 (1826), 112-116;
129. Brisbane to Davy, 18 January 1823, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5b; Chambers, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh op. cit. (note 57), vol. 1, p. 418;
130. Anonymous, 'New Elements of Encke's Comet', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 9 (1823), 391-392;
131. J. F. W. Herschel, Outlines of Astronomy (London, 1850), p. 357;
132. H. Macpherson, Makers of Astronomy (Oxford, 1933), pp. 136-138;
133. Rümker, Makers of Astronomy (op. cit. (note 54), p. 54;
134. J. Tebutt, On the Progress and Present State of Astronomical Science in New South Wales (Sydney, 1870), p. 3.
135. H. T. Colebrooke, 'On presenting the Gold Medal to Professor Encke, and the Silver Medal to Dr P.K. Rümker', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 1(1822), 512-513;
136. 'Rümker', Dictionary of Australian Biography, vol. II, 293.
137. Bergman, Dictionary of Australian Biography, op. cit. (note 2), p. 252.
138. Extract from the Literary Gazette on 'Fourier's Report on the Progress of the Mathematical Sciences', Sydney Gazette, 22 January 1824.
139. Sydney Gazette, 16 September 1824.
140. Brisbane and Rümker, Sydney Gazette, op. cit. (note 62), pp. 112-116;
141. T. Brisbane and C. Rümker, 'Comet of September, 1822, observed at Parramatta', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 10 (1824), 179.
142. The original observations are held at the Royal Society of London: Astronomical observations, 1823-1825, 7 vols., Royal Society London, MS 110-116: 'Observed Transits of the Fixed Stars and Planets over the Meridian', 17 June 1823, 9 April 1824 MS 110;
143. 'Observed Distances of the Fixed Stars and Planets from the South Pole', 17 June 1823, 3 September 1823 MS 111;
144. 'Observed Distances of the Fixed Stars and Planets from the South Pole', 3 September 1823, 1 May 1823, MS 112;
145. 'Observations of Right Ascensions and South Polar Distances made with the Mural Circle, Parramatta, 1824', 'Observed Distances of the Fixed Stars and Planets from the South Pole', 2 May, 16 August 1824, MS 113;
146. 'Observed Distances of the Fixed Stars and Planets from the South Pole', 23 August 1824, 5 February 1825, MS 114;
147. 'Observations of Right Ascensions and South Polar Distances with the Mural Circle', 7 February 20 June, 1825, MS 115;
148. 'Observations made with the Mural Circle of Right Ascensions and South Polar Distances of Stars and Planets at Parramatta, New South Wales, In the Year 1825', 22 June, 1 October 1825, MS 116.
149. Rümker, 'Observations made with the Mural Circle of Right Ascensions and South Polar Distances of Stars and Planets at Parramatta, New South Wales, In the Year 1825', op. cit. (note 54), pp. iv, 52-3.
150. Brisbane and Rümker, 'Observations made with the Mural Circle of Right Ascensions and South Polar Distances of Stars and Planets at Parramatta, New South Wales, In the Year 1825', op. cit. (note 62), pp. 112, 114.
151. Brisbane and Rümker, 'Observations made at Parramatta in 1823', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 10 (1824), pp. 245-6.
152. Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society of London, A. P. 11, 5e; Brisbane and Rümker, 'Astronomical Observations made at Parramatta and Sydney, 1823', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 10 (1826), p. 112.
153. Service, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, op. cit._(note 3), p. 145; Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society of London, A. P. 11, 5e.
154. Brisbane to Kater, 6 November 1824, Royal Society, London, A. P.11, 5f.
155. Rümker, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh op. cit., (note 54), Preface, p. v.
156. Service, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh op. cit. (note 3), pp. 160-1.
157. Scott used the Troughton transit instrument while he was waiting for the Jones transit circle (acquired for Parramatta in 1835) to be repaired in England. Assessing the transit instrument in 1858, he remarked: 'so great ... were its defects, that it was only by taking the mean of a considerable number of Transits of Nautical Almanac Stars, that even a tolerable approximation to time could be achieved' (W. Scott, Astronomical Observations made at the Sydney Observatory in the Year 1859 [Sydney, 1860], p. v).
158. Rümker, Astronomical Observations made at the Sydney Observatory in the Year 1859 [op.cit. (note 54), Preface, p. iii.
159. Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5e.
160. W. Richardson to T. Young, 24 February, 1829; Board of Longitude Papers, MS.RGO.14/48, Nos. 230-231, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England.
161. Richardson, Astronomical Observations Made at the Sydney Observatory in the Year 1859 op. cit. (note 50), Preface, p. v.
162. Herschel, Astronomical Observations Made at the Sydney Observatory in the Year 1859 op. cit. (note 56), p. 404.
163. Quoted in D. S. Evans, ed., Herschel at the Cape: Diaries and Correspondence of Sir John Herschel, 1834-1838 (Austin, Texas, 1969), p. 190.
164. Herschel at the Cape: Diaries and Correspondence of Sir John Herschel, 1834-1838 (Ibid., p. 223.
165. Cited by Bergman, Herschel at the Cape: Diaries and Correspondence of Sir John Herschel, 1834-1838 (op.cit. (note 2), p. 256.
166. J. E. van Steenwijk, Rereduced Catalogue of the Declination of Southern Stars, Observed with the Mural Circle at Parramatta, New South Wales, by James Dunlop and Charles Rümker in the years 1823-1828 (Kiel, 1923);
167. Astronomische Abhandlungen: Ergänzungshefte zu den Astronomischen Nachrichten, vol. 4 (1924), No. 7.
168. Rümker's observations at Parramatta were also re-reduced in 1909 (F. W. Ristenpart, Catalogue of Errors in Star Catalogues of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Kiel, 1909)).
169. See also H.W. Wood, 'Sydney Observatory: Its History and Work', Australian Journal of Science, 1 (1939), 189-93, p. 190.
170. T. Brisbane, 'Observations of the Inferior Conjunction of Venus with the Sun, in October 1823 at Parramatta', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 65;
171. T. Brisbane, 'Observations made at Parramatta on the inferior contingency of Venus with the Sun in October 1823', Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1 (1824), 236-9;
172. T. Brisbane, 'Observations before and after the Superior Conjunction of Venus with the Sun with the Mural Circle at Parramatta, 1824', Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 10 (1826), 330-1;
173. Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 277-81;
174. T. Brisbane, 'Observations made at Parramatta, in New South Wales; to which are annexed observations made at Stargard, New South Wales, on the Comet which appeared in July, 1824', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 277;
175. J. Dunlop, 'Observations on Encke's Comet of 1825', Edinburgh Journal of Science, 6 (1827), 175-6.
176. 'Meteorological Journal kept at Parramatta, New South Wales, taken by Sir Thomas Brisbane, 1 May, 1822-31 March, 1823 (Thermometer, Barometer, Remarks, Morning, Noon, Night)', (Royal Society, London, Meteorological Archives, MA 58);
177. T. Brisbane, 'Mean of Twelve Months Meteorological Observations in 1822-1823' in Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales, ed. B. Field (London, 1825), p. 397,
178. also published in Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 11 (1824), 119-20;
179. T. Brisbane, 'On the Meteorological Tables kept in 1822 at Macquarie Harbour and Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land', Edinburgh Journal of Science, 1 (1825), 75-7;
180. T. Brisbane, 'Observations made at Port Macquarie, Van Diemen's Land for the purpose of determining the Decrease of Heat in ascending the Atmosphere', Edinburgh Journal of Science, 6 (1827), 246-9;
181. Brisbane to Bruce, 13 December 1822, Brisbane Papers, ML FM4/1626, Section 1. Summaries of Brisbane's meteorological observations from May 1822 to March 1824 are given in the Sydney Gazette, 10 July 1823 and 8 April 1824. See A. M. Moyal, Scientists in Nineteenth Century Australia: A Documentary History (Melbourne, 1976), pp. 30-33.
182. J. Brinkley, 'The results of computations on Astronomical Observations made at Parramatta, in New South Wales, under the direction of Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C.B.; and the application thereof to investigate the exactness of Observations made in the Northern Hemisphere', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2 (1826), 105-23, p. 108.
183. T. Brisbane, 'Observations on the Temperature of the Earth at Parramatta, New South Wales', Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 10, (1824), 219.
184. Bergman, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, op. cit. (note 2), p. 263
185. quoted Harley Wood as saying that the arc of meridian project was far too difficult for one man and an assistant and the high costs involved meant that the measurements were never done in New South Wales. T. Brisbane, 'An Account of Experiments made with an Invariable Pendulum at New South Wales', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 113 (1823), 308-24.
186. This paper was reported in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal 10 (1824), 181-2, under the heading 'Sir Thomas Brisbane's Experiments on the Pendulum';
187. see also 'Experiments with an Invariable Pendulum made at Parramatta, 24 September, 1824', eleven pages of figures, received by Davy, 1 June 1825, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5i and duplicate received by Davy, 17 November 1825, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5j.
188. See note 54.
189. Brisbane to Craufurd, 13 February 1823, Public Record Office, Kew, PMG 1, Letters 1784-1867, vol. for 1822-3.
190. Brisbane to Davy, 18 April 1823, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5d.
191. Brisbane to Craufurd, 13 February 1823, loc.cit. (note 91). Eight months earlier Brisbane had written asking Craufurd to call on Truttle and Wurtz, booksellers in Soho, to see if they had any foreign scientific books (Brisbane to Craufurd, July 1822, Public Record Office, Kew, PMG 1, Letters 1784-1867, vol. for 1822-3).
192. Brisbane to Craufurd, 21 June 1823, loc. cit. (note 91).
193. See note 52.
194. Rümker to T. Young, 28 June 1822; Board of Longitude Papers, MS.RGO.14/48, No. 217, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England.
195. Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society, London, A. P. 11, 5e. The rods, cylinders, small theodolite and sextant to which Brisbane referred were the instruments that Rümker went to England to purchase in 1829.
196. Members of the Council to Brisbane, 11 October 1825, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XII, pp. 708-709.
197. Rod Home has referred to the practical reasons and the motives of cultural pride behind the interest of colonial governments in establishing observatories, particularly from the late 1850s (R. Home and M. Watanabe, 'Physics in Australia and Japan to 1914: A Comparison', Annals of Science, 44 (1987), 215-35, p. 218).
198. Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XII, p. 709: Valuation of Astronomical Instruments Four Astronomical clocks, best description £490/0/0 Mural circle by Troughton £200/0/0 Transit Instr. 5 ft. Do. £105/0/0 Repeating Circle 16 In. (Reichenbach) £130/0/0 Equat'l Telescope, etc. (Banks) £60/0/0 French Do. £42/0/0 Declination instrument, complete, by Dolland [Dollond] £30/0/0 Inclination do. Gemby [Gambey], Paris £42/0/0 Borda's Pendulum, complete for determining the figure of the Earth £85/0/0 Magnetic transit by Jerker, Paris £15/0/0 2 Mountain Barometers by Troughton £11/0/0 Observatory Barometer and four Thermometers £10/0/0 Kater's Azimuth Compass £10/0/0 Pair 18 inch Globes, London £19/0/0 Leveling Telescopes, complete £12/0/0 Astronomical books, etc. £353/13/0 £1,614/13/0
199. The reflector was referred to in Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of London, 1 (1828), 60.
200. H. C. Russell told John Service that he had tried repeatedly to trace this instrument which was never seen at Dunlop's later house at Brisbane Waters. This instrument was not referred to during 1832 to 1847 and Russell assumed that the instrument had been taken back to Scotland and left there (Service, Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of London, op. cit. [note 2], pp. 142-3).
201. Brisbane referred to Dunlop's plans for these star observations (Brisbane to Davy, 11 June 1824, Royal Society, London, A. P.11, 5e). Dunlop expressed his aims for compiling a catalogue of nebulae in J. Dunlop, 'Appropriate Places of Double Stars in the Southern Hemisphere for 1827, observed at Parramatta', Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 3 (1829), 257-75, p. 257.
202. Dunlop, 'A Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere, Observed at Parramatta in New South Wales', Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society of London, 118 (1828), 113-151.
203. See also J. Dunlop, 'Description of some remarkable Nebulae and Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere, observed at Parramatta, in New South Wales', Edinburgh Journal of Science, 10 (1829), 282-94.
204. Dunlop gave a one-and-a-half-page description of the Nebula Major (1828, loc. cit., pp. 147-8). He unknowingly also examined the best example in the sky of a dark nebula, the Coal Sack. Dunlop called the dark space 'the black cloud as it is called' and concluded that the darkness was 'occasioned by a vacancy or want of stars' (1828, loc. cit., p. 149). From these remarks it is clear that Dunlop regarded nebulae as self-illuminating, composed of 'shining matter' (1828, loc. cit., p. 151). The Coal Sack was dismissed by Dunlop as merely a space containing very few stars and was not considered by Dunlop to be a cloud of dark material. (See P. Moore, The Southern Stars [Kent Town, South Australia, 1972], p. 15.)
205. Darling to Hay, 25 October 1827, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XIII, p. 563; Bergman, The Southern Stars [op. cit. (note 2), p. 246;
206. Service, The Southern Stars [op. cit. (note 3), p. 166.
207. See note 54.
208. The transit circle is also referred to as a 'meridian circle'. James South (1785-1867) was a Fellow of the Royal Society, King's Own Astronomer and President of the Astronomical Society of London in 1829. South received a knighthood on 21 July 1830 (Dictionary of National Biography, vol. XVIII, pp. 680-2).
209. Minutes of the Royal Society of London, 19 November, 1830. Gilbert to [Hay], 20 May 1830, Royal Society, London, DM4, No. 88; D. Gilbert, F. Baily and F. Beaufort, Report on the Parramatta Observations, June 1830, ML MSS 419/2, Item 6;
210. Hay to Darling, 22 July 1830, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XV, p. 600:
211. 'I am directed further to acquaint you that His Majesty's Government have thought it fit to dispense with the services of Mr. Rümker for the future and that he has received his salary, with the exception of the arrears now claimed, up to the 18th Ulto. and for no period beyond that date'. Governor Bourke, Returns, p. 1125;
212. Bergman, Returns, op. cit. (note 2), p. 275.
213. Bergman, Returns, ibid. (note 2), p. 275;
214. Service, Returns, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 168, 200, 204.
215. Dunlop to Brisbane, 1832, draft, quoted in Service, Returns, op. cit. (note 3), p. 169; see also pp. 173, 175.
216. J. Dunlop, 'Observations of the Magnitude, Colour and Brightness of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2 (22) (14 June 1833), 190;
217. J. Dunlop, 'Observations of Two Comets in 1833 and 1834, made at Parramatta by Mr Dunlop, with Remarks by Mr Henderson', Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, 8 (1835), 251-67;
218. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3 (1835), 100;
219. J. Dunlop, 'Observations, by the Transit and Mural Circle, of Mars, and stars in his Parallel made at Parramatta', Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, 8 (1835), 227-9;
220. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3 (1835), 100;
221. J. Dunlop, 'Observations of Moon and Moon-culminating Stars, Eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, and Occultations of Fixed Stars by the Moon, made at the Observatory of Parramatta in New South Wales, in the Year 1838', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 5 (2) (14 December 1839), 8.
222. Eight of Dunlop's manuscript books of observations made at the Parramatta Observatory came into the custody of James Kay, a stone mason in Gosford and in 1871 he gave them to Sydney Observatory (H. C. Russell, 'Astronomical and Meteorological Workers in New South Wales, 1778 to 1860', Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Report 1888, 1 [1889], p. 65).
223. See Tebbutt, Report 1888, op. cit. (note 62), p. 4, where Tebbutt remarked that Dunlop was the only observer to record the comet of 1833. For Dunlop's records on Halley's comet see CA3 091, Government Observatory, Parramatta, Australian Archives, New South Wales Office, CA 1726 Notebooks recording observations of Halley's Comet, 1835-1836, CRS C94 (six small notebooks of 5-9 folios, recorded in pencil);
224. J. Dunlop, Book of Observations on Halley's Comet (23 August 1835 to 2 April 1836), Manuscript held at Sydney Observatory, 8 pp.
225. After Federation many of Dunlop's papers on meteorology were transferred from Sydney Observatory to the Bureau of Meteorology. In 1981 they were deposited in the Australian Archives: CRS C93 Journals of Meteorological Observations 1822-1836, held by CA 2352, Bureau of Meteorology, Regional Office, New South Wales, registered at New South Wales Regional Office of the Australian Archives, 15 May 1981, 1980/552.
226. See Russell, CRS C93 Journals of Meteorological Observations 1822-1836, op. cit. (note 109), p. 68, for references to letters of Dunlop on the South Head barometer readings in May 1843.
227. Service, CRS C93 Journals of Meteorological Observations 1822-1836, op. cit. (note 3), p. 172.
228. J. Dunlop to the Board of Visitors of the Parramatta Observatory, 18 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 732-733;
229. also cited as Appendix J, Russell, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 109), pp. 85-6; P. P. King to W. H. Smyth, 27 August 1847, Airy Papers, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England, MS.RGO.6/141, Section 7;
230. Service, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 172, 196.
231. See entries in Dunlop's manuscript books, Sydney Observatory MS. Dunlop suffered an attack of dysentry in July 1835 and was bitten on the thumb by a native cat and contracted tetanus in 1837. In 1839 he was nearly 'blind with sore eyes' and on 23 October 1839 Governor Gipps wrote to Brisbane that Dunlop was 'very ill, and will not I fear last very long'. In 1843 Dunlop broke his leg. He suffered from indigestion and hereditary heart trouble. In 1843 Brisbane was informed that Dunlop had 'been very ill for some weeks, he suffers no pain but a general debility... He is invariably seized about two in the morning with a sort of torpor which renders him unable to speak or move, and although perfectly sensible, he cannot make the least exertion to rouse himself. When lifted in the bed he gradually recovers.' (Service, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. [note 3], pp. 187-9, 192-3).
232. J. F. W. Herschel, Results of Astronomical Observations made during the years 1834-1838 at the Cape of Good Hope (London, 1847), p. 167;
233. Evans, Results of Astronomical Observations made during the years 1834-1838 at the Cape of Good Hope (op. cit. (note 83), p. 67.
234. See also criticisms of Dunlop by X D. Forbes, 'Astronomical Observations at the Cape', The Quarterly Review, 85 (1849), p. 12.
235. Service quoted Russell's view that these insinuations were ill-natured: 'There are a good many very stupid mistakes in Herschel's own Catalogue, he need not have been so hard upon others. The effort in those days seems to have been to get through a fearful lot of work without too much regard for quality, but times have changed since then.' (X D. Forbes, The Quarterly Review, op. cit. [note 3], p. 177).
236. Service, The Quarterly Review, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 192-3.
237. Airy Papers, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England, MS.RGO.6/140, Section 9; Grey to FitzRoy, Despatch No. 38, 3 October 1846, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 213;
238. FitzRoy to Grey, Despatch No. 141, 11 July 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 657-662.
239. Board reporting on the State of Observatory Establishment at Parramatta, 26 June 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 658;
240. Report of a Commission appointed by the order of His Excellency the Governor, dated 14th April, 1847, for the purpose of examining the inventory of Instruments and Books, etc., belonging to the Observatory at Parramatta, 21 June 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 659-661.
241. See also Report to the Colonial Secretary, 26 June 1847, enclosed in X Parker, Secretary of the Admiralty, to G.B. Airy, 29 October 1849, Airy Papers, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England, MS.RGO.6/140, Section 9.
242. P. P. King to W. H. Smyth, 27 August 1847, Airy Papers, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England, MS.RGO.6/141, Section 7.
243. P. P. King to J. Lee, 3 November, 1847, National Library of Australia, MS 4168, NK 5213.
244. Grey to FitzRoy, Despatch No. 162, 3 June 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 612-613; H. G. Ward, Secretary of the Admiralty, to G. B. Airy, 1 April, 1847, MS.RGO.6/141, Section 7; G. B. Airy to H. G. Ward, 30 April, 1847 Airy Papers, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Archives Collection, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England, MS.RGO.6/141, Section 7.
245. J. Dunlop to the Board of Visitors of the Parramatta Observatory, 18 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 732-733;
246. FitzRoy to Grey, Despatch No. 176, 30 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 732;
247. LieutenantColonel Gordon and Mr Rogers to Colonial Secretary Thomson, 23 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 733;
248. Service, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 202-3.
249. Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Report 1888, [1889] (note 109), p. 94.
250. J. Dunlop, 'Observations by the Transit and Mural Circle of Mars and stars in his parallel, made at Parramatta from October to December, 1832', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3 (1835), 100:
251. 'During their continuance [taking observations], workmen were erecting a dwelling house adjoining the Observatory, and the clock not being insulated was in consequence very unsteady. The Transit and Circle were also considerably affected by the same cause'. J. Dunlop, Astronomical Observations at Parramatta 1832-1840 Notebooks, vol. 1, Ms, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
252. See also Service, Astronomical Observations at Parramatta 1832-1840 Notebooks, op. cit. (note 3), p. 175,
253. and E. Brenchley, Parramatta Observatory Old Government House Parramatta : The Case for Archaeological Investigation (Sydney, Heritage Council of N.S.W., 1980).
254. Darling to Goderich, 5 January 1828, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XIII, p. 679;
255. Darling to Huskisson, 29 August 1828, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XIV, p. 355;
256. Twiss to Darling, 21 December 1829, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XV, p. 298;
257. Aberdeen to Governor Bourke, 31 March 1835, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XVIII, p. 704; Bourke, Despatches from the Governor of New South Wales, Public Record Office, Copies 1832-1834, p. 1553,
258. cited in V. W. E. Goodin, 'Parramatta Observatory - The Story of an Absurdity', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 33 (1947), 173-87, p. 183.
259. See also Service, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 141, 206.
260. The building contract was signed with Messrs Byrnes and Gooch on 17 May 1832 (Extract of a Report from the Board of Audit, 16 March 1835, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XVII, p. 704).
261. Conclusions based on a survey drawing supplied by E. Ebsworth to H. C. Russell in May 1888 (H. C. Russell to J. Deering, 17 May 1888, Letter, Sydney Observatory) and my own measurements of the site showing that there is a distance of 6.6 metres (22 feet) between the obelisk and the transit piers.
262. C. Wilkes, Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Philadelphia, 1845), vol. II, p. 256;
263. J. Dunlop to the Board of Visitors of the Parramatta Observatory, 18 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, pp. 732-3
264. also cited as Appendix J. Russell, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 109), pp. 85-6;
265. Service, Historical Records of Australia, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 197-198;
266. see Board Reporting on State of Observatory Establishment at Parramatta, 26 June 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 658.
267. W. Scott, Astronomical Observations made at The Sydney Observatory in the Year 1859 (Sydney, 1860), Introduction, p. iii.
268. New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (1855), vol. 2, p. 35.
269. See Goodin, New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (op. cit. (note 124), p. 182.
270. Goodin, New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (ibid., p. 184.
271. J. Dunlop to the Board of Visitors of the Parramatta Observatory, 18 August 1847, Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, XXV, p. 732.
272. New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (1855), vol. 2, p. 35.
273. E. Ebsworth, Field Book 3667, 7 December 1887, Lands Department; see Goodin, New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (op. cit. (note 124), p. 176.
274. Tebbutt, New South Wales Legislative Council Votes and Proceedings, (op. cit. (note 62), p. 4.
275. Cumberland Mercury, 1 May 1875;
276. Sydney Mail, 8 May 1880;
277. see inscription on the obelisk, Parramatta Park; 'Parramatta and its Park-Remains of Old Observatory and Memorial Obelisk', The Town and Country Journal, 15 November 1890, p. 27.
278. H. C. Russell to J. Deering, Under-Secretary of Lands, 17 May 1888 (posted 6 July 1888), copy at Sydney Observatory and cited by Goodin, The Town and Country Journal, op. cit. (note 124), p. 179.
279. Goodin, The Town and Country Journal, Ibid., pp. 185-6.
280. Mr P. Hayes of George Street, Parramatta, was quoted by Service as saying that Dunlop 'lived in a small cottage at the back of the Observatory' (Goodin, The Town and Country Journal, op. cit. [note 3], p. 206).
281. Ebsworth, The Town and Country Journal, loc. cit. (note 132);
282. Goodin, The Town and Country Journal, op. cit. (note 124), pp. 184, 186, 187;
283. Sydney Morning Herald, 9 November 1856;
284. Cumberland Argus, 15 October 1887.
285. See W. Freame, Letter, 20 December 1921, Evening News,
286. in response to the drawing of Brisbane's Observatory based on Clarke's plan published in the Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December 1921 (Goodin, Evening News, op. cit. [note 124], p. 186).
287. Sir W. Denison to Colonel Harkness, R. E., 20 February 1857, in Denison, Varieties of Vice Regal Life (London, 1870), vol. 1, p. 380.
288. P. P. King to J. Lee, 3 November 1847, National Library of Australia, MS 4168, NK 5213.