The Perth Observatory has a long and distinguished history serving the state of Western Australia. A timeline of the many milestones in our history is below.
1890 - 1899
1891 – WA Premier John Forrest proposes Observatory
1896 – William Ernest Cooke is appointed as the state’s first Government Astronomer
1897 – The Main Office Building is completed
1898 – Kullberg clocks are purchased and installed
1898 – Troughton & Simms 6″ Meridian Telescope arrives
1899 – Howard Grubb 13″ Astrographic Telescope arrives (Perth’s population 26,600)
1900 - 1909
1900 – Troughton & Simms 6″ Meridian Telescope is installed
1901 – Howard Grubb 13″ Astrographic Telescope is installed
1901 – Milne seismograph installed
1901 – Observations of Great Southern Comet
1901 – Star mapping started;
1901 – One o’clock time gun commenced
1908 – Meteorological services went to the Commonwealth Meteorological Service – the Service (Bureau) remained at the Observatory until 1967
1910 - 1919
1911 – Tidal measurements started;
1911 – Expedition to Tongan solar eclipse;
1911 – Calver 12.5″ reflector arrives and is installed (first telescope used for public viewing)
1912 – Harold Curlewis is appointed as the state’s second Government Astronomer
1920 - 1929
1920 – Astronomy staff reduced to two people during the great depression and remained at this level until the post-war period (Through to 1950)
1922 – Part of the expedition to Wallal for the solar eclipse to prove Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity
1940 - 1949
1940 – Hyman Spigl is appointed as the state’s third Government Astronomer
1942 – US Navy broadcast Perth Observatory time signal at short wavelengths (Through to 1945)
1950 - 1959
1955 – One o’clock time gun ends – time signals now sent to radio stations
1957 – No. 94 Shortt synchronome clock arrives from Synchronome Co., London
1957 – Project Moonwatch – program to track early artificial satellites (Through to 1961)
1958 – Markowitz Moon camera on Astrograph
1960 - 1969
1961 – No. 11 Shortt synchronome clock purchased from Greenwich Observatory
1962 – Bertrand Harris is appointed as the state’s fourth Government Astronomer
1962 – Seismic work moved to Mundaring Geophysical Observatory
1963 – Zeiss plate measuring machine arrives
1966 – New Perth Observatory opened at Bickley
1967 – Hamburg Observatory Meridian Telescope expedition (Through to 1971)
1969 – University of Western Australia’s 40cm Telescope is installed
1969 – Astrographic Catalogue second epoch plates (Through to 1985)
1970 - 1979
1970 – First Minor planet discovered at the new Observatory (MP 2993 Wendy)
1971 – Lowell 24” Telescope is installed
1973 – IAU Symposium no. 61 held in Perth
1974 – Dr Iwan Nikoloff is appointed as the state’s fifth Government Astronomer
1980 - 1989
1984 – Michael Candy is appointed as the state’s sixth Government Astronomer
1986 – Comet Halley CCD observations in collaboration with the University of Maryland and Lowell Observatory
1987 – Night tours recommence
1988 – Perth Astronomy Research Group (PARG) is formed
1990 - 1999
1992 – The Lowell telescope is reopened as the Perth Lowell Automated Telescope (PLAT)
1994 – Dr James Biggs is appointed as the state’s seventh Government Astronomer
1995 – Foundation members of Probing Lensing Anomalies with a Network of Telescopes (PLANET)
1995 – Perth Observatory Volunteer Group (POVG) formed
1996 – Perth Observatory’s centenary, host ASA conference
2000 - 2010
2006 – Hands on the Universe Telescopes is installed
2010 – Ralph Martin is appointed as the state’s eighth Government Astronomer
2010 – Bureau of Meteorology Ionosonde Tower is installed
2012 – Official research ends at Perth Observatory
2010 - 2019
2015 – The Perth Observatory Volunteer Group signs a commercial lease agreement with the Department of Parks and Wildlife to run the Observatory
2016 – The Observatory celebrates its 120th birthday and 50 years in Bickley
2017 – The COMSPOC Telescope is installed
2017 – The Perth Observatory Volunteer Group celebrates its 21st birthday
