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Mount Stromlo Fire of 18 January 2003

This page acts as an "information hub" for material related to the 18 January 2003 bushfire on Mount Stromlo and also touches on a bit of previous Mount Stromlo history. This page is also rightly considered "history" itself and, as such, its content has not been substantially updated since early 2004.

Regarding the 18 January 2003 firestorm on Mount Stromlo:

• photos and footage
• articles, letters and recollections
• forging ahead
• The Stromlo Orrery Project

For those individuals or organisations wishing to make a donation to our recovery, the ANU is administering the Mt Stromlo Redevelopment Fund on the School's behalf.

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Photos and footage

Various individuals/organisations have contributed photos/footage of before/after/during the fire on Mount Stromlo:

Kim Rawlings

Peter Wood

Coombs Photography

RSAA Image Gallery       (albums of photos spanning many years pertaining to Mount Stromlo Observatory)

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Articles, letters and recollections

Mount Stromlo is no stranger to bushfire, as you can read in Doris Hogg's recollections of the 1952 fire.

There's no doubt that the destruction of all the Mount Stromlo telescopes as a result of the 18 January 2003 bushfire is a major loss for Australian astronomy. To better appreciate the significance of this loss you may care to peruse Dr Wayne Orchiston's article.

Recounting the devastation on Mount Stromlo, as well as the fortunate survivals, is the thrust of an open letter of 27 January 2003 from Professor Penny Sackett, Director of ANU's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. In her follow-up open letter of 11 February 2003, she thanks the sterling efforts and cooperation of many which made it possible for the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) to return to Mount Stromlo just three weeks after the bushfire.

Thanks to all those who sent e-mails of condolence, etc. from around the world.

Marking the first anniversary of the 2003 firestorm is a collection of personal stories from staff and visitors of Mount Stromlo Observatory.

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Forging ahead

In the spirit of the open letter of 11 February 2003 from RSAA Director, Professor Penny Sackett, staff and students at Mount Stromlo have pressed on with their work, despite all-encompassing setbacks in some cases. Here are a few of the highlights from 2003:

Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph (NIFS) rebuild on track

Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) work proceeding

Frame & Faulkner's "History of Mount Stromlo Observatory" launched October 2003

Galactic Archaeology: RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) commenced

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Copyright
The material available from the Australian National University (ANU) website comes from a number of sources including staff and students at the University, third parties who have given permission for use of their material, and material copied under statutory licenses. Accordingly, no material available from the ANU site may be copied, reproduced or communicated without the prior permision of the ANU. Requests for permission for use of the material should be made to:

The Director
Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200
Australia