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Buildings at Melbourne Observatory
Image: Negative - View of Melbourne Observatory, 1880s
Source: Museum Victoria
The location of buildings across the Observatory site was a direct outcome of the scientific requirements of the work being undertaken.
When Melbourne Observatory opened in 1863, all the astronomical functions of the Observatory were initially gathered in the main building, including the transit telescope, equatorial telescope and prime vertical telescope. However the sensitive magnetic instruments needed to be kept way from any other metal objects that might disturb the measurements. The instruments were kept in two separate magnet houses, the Absolute House and the Horary House, both some distance from the main Observatory building, and separate from one another. The meteorological instruments were also kept in a separate cluster to the east of the main building, so that the air could circulate freely around the thermometers.
The location of additional buildings and structures was also dictated by scientific and astronomical considerations. Transit telescopes could be attached to the main building as they only had to have line of sight in one plane; thus new transit rooms were added to the main building in 1866 and 1883. New equatorial-mounted telescopes were placed elsewhere on the grounds so that they could have clear views at lower altitudes; attaching them to the main building would have added considerably to the costs, as they would need to be raised higher to give them a clear view over the main building's roofline. The Astrograph could be relatively close to the main building to its north, because its allotted task was to photograph stars towards the south celestial pole.
The location of the Great Melbourne Telescope some distance from the main building was dictated by the concern that it should be removed as far as possible from the existing magnet houses on the south and west of the site, to reduce the chance of the large metal telescope, lenses and associated machinery interfering with the magnetic observations. Its location to the north of the site also gave it clear lines of sight in most directions, except for its own roll-back roof to the south.
Timeline of Main Buildings
Absolute Magnet House, 1861
Horary Magnet House, 1861; demolished & replaced by Differential Magnet House, 1867
Main Observatory Building, 1861-1863
Astronomer's Residence (original), 1861; demolished 1914
Assistant Astronomer's Residence, 1861; demolished 1914
Second Transit Room added to Main Building, 1866
Differential Magnet House, 1867; demolished & replaced by Magnet House, 1877
Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1869-1870
Thermograph House, 1870; demolished
Photoheliograph House, 1873
South Equatorial House, 1874
Magnet House, 1877
Thermometer Shed, 1879; moved 1885; demolished
East Transit Room added to Main Building, 1883
New Workshop added to Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1888
Astrograph House, 1889
Astronomer's Residence (new), 1889
Computing Room added to Main Building, 1892
Caretaker's Quarters, 1902
Astrophotographic Room added to Main Building, 1902
Strong Room added to Main Building, 1902
Whirling Room added to Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1904
Anemometer Tower, 1906
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 21 - 30) 370 items
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Photograph - Melbourne Observatory House, South Yarra, Victoria, 1935
View of Melbourne Observatory House, the residence of the Victorian Government Astronomer, 1935. Photograph taken by Rolf Baldwin, son of the third Government Astronomer, Joseph Baldwi ...
Images: 2 -
Photograph - Melbourne Observatory House, South Yarra, Victoria, 1935
View of Melbourne Observatory House, the residence of the Victorian Government Astronomer, 1935. Photograph taken by Rolf Baldwin, son of the third Government Astronomer, Joseph Baldwi ...
Images: 2 -
Photograph - View of Buildings at Melbourne Observatory, South Yarra, Victoria, circa 1937
View of the main building at Melbourne Observatory, taken from the southeast. From the left, the buildings visible are the Astrograph House, rear of main building, 8 inch transit house, ...
Images: 2 -
Photograph - Manna Gum, Grounds of Melbourne Observatory, South Yarra, Victoria, 1933
Photograph of the grounds of Melbourne Observatory, taken by Rolf Baldwin, son of the third Government Astronomer, Joseph Baldwin, 1933.
Images: 2 -
Photograph - Great Melbourne Telescope, Melbourne Observatory, South Yarra, circa 1875
Photograph of the Great Melbourne Telescope House at Melbourne Observatory, by Charles Nettleton, circa 1875. The photograph has been taken from the roof of the main Melbourne Observa ...
Images: 2 -
No Image Available
Chronograph - Melbourne Observatory, 1870s
Chronograph from Melbourne Observatory, designed by Government Astronomer Robert Ellery and built at the observatory workshop in the 1860s or 1870s. This was one of several chronograp ...
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 0 -
Plan - Transit Room, Melbourne Observatory, 1861
Plan from the Melbourne Observatory drawn on off-white paper in black ink showing the West Elevation of the First Transit Room, completed in 1863.
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 1 -
Photograph - Orion Nebula, Taken with the Great Melbourne Telescope, Victoria, 26 Feb 1883
Photograph of Orion Nebula, taken by Joseph Turner with the Great Melbourne Telescope on 26 Feb 1883, with an exposure of 4 minutes.
Images: 2 -
Photograph - K Crucis, Taken With The Great Melbourne Telescope, Victoria, 3 Mar 1883
Photograph of the Kappa Crucis Cluster, named the 'Jewel Box', in the constellation of Crux. Photograph taken by Joseph Turner with the Great Melbourne Telescope on March 3 1883, with a ...
Images: 2 -
Photograph - 'Absolute House', Melbourne Observatory, South Yarra, Victoria, circa 1935
Photograph of the Absolute House at Melbourne Observatory, circa 1935. Built in 1861 the Absolute House measured geomagnetic elements along with the Differential House. Photograph take ...
Images: 2
