NRS-13992 | Parramatta and Sydney Observatory Correspondence and Reports

Full description

This series contains letters, minutes, reports, notes, plans, newspaper clippings, extracts from Parliamentary Papers, petitions and warrants relating to Parramatta and Sydney Observatory. The series ranges from the appointment of Mr. Rumker as Government Astronomer in 1827 to the request for a stove or fireplace by Government Astronomer George R. Smalley in 1866. There are detailed reports on the equipment used, the physical state of the Observatory at Parramatta, the decision to erect an Observatory in Sydney, the selection of a site on Flagstaff Hill, and the subsequent construction of the Sydney Observatory.

Construction and maintenance matters for the Sydney Observatory reported on in this series include the Dome and Equatorial Tower, Astronomer's Residence, Astronomer's Office. The Computer's Room, the Time ball Tower, and the Transit Room. Mention is also made of the Observatory Library initially maintained at Parramatta and then transferred to Sydney.

Two plans relating to the Sydney Observatory - "Plan of Observatory Time Ball Tower and Observers House" and "Plan of Observatory", have been extracted from the series papers. The plans are listed as Plan 2431 and Plan 2432 and have been stored separately from the Observatory Correspondence and Reports.

Series Background
This series was transferred as a State archive by Sydney Observatory to the then Archives Authority of New South Wales in September 1980 . In the 3rd edition of the Concise Guide these were identified as CGS 13992 and may previously have been referred to by this number.