RSAA News of the Month: October 2003
Stromlo, an Australian Observatory
Our history is now in print.
Tuesday, Oct 7 saw the launch of "Stromlo, an Australian
Observatory". The book, by Tom Frame and Don Faulkner, presents
the history of Mt Stromlo Observatory
from the original lobbying of W G Duffield in 1905 to the firestorm of
Jan 18, 2003 which destroyed the heritage-listed buildings and
telescopes. It covers the first 80 years of Stromlo, the full lifetime
of the "old" Stromlo. It also covers the history of Siding Spring Observatory from the
site-testing of the 1950s to the present.
Front and back cover of the Stromlo history
The book launch was held on the lawns at Stromlo, between the
ruins of the heritage-listed Commonwealth Solar Observatory building
and the Duffield building, which survived the fire. Some 200 guests
attended, including many ex-Stromlo staff. Among them were 4
generations of workshop foremen, and Miss Joan Duffield, daughter of
our first Director, W G Duffield.
Some of the crowd that attended the launch
In launching the book, Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson paid
tribute to the incredible contribution of Stromlo to astronomy and
cosmology. He also highlighted the importance of replacing the
telescopes and heritage buildings lost in the fire. The Deputy Prime
Minister was presented with a unique small sculpture made by
Stromlo craftsman Ross Tranter from a fire-damaged flint glass lens
and a melted aluminium crucible. Mr Anderson's seat, Gwydir, contains
Stromlo's sister observatory, Siding Spring. The Vice Chancellor and
Deputy Prime Minister were presented with signed copies of the book.
Left:
ANU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ian Chubb and Stromlo Director, Prof. Penny
Sackett
welcome the Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, to
Stromlo.
Centre:
The Vice-Chancellor welcomes staff and guests.
The speakers, seated,
are Mr Ian Bowering (Allen & Unwin), author Dr Don Faulkner
(RSAA), author Dr Tom Frame (ADF),
RSAA Director Prof. Penny Sackett,
and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.
Right:
The Deputy Prime Minister addresses the gathering and formally
launches our history book
Left:
Penny Sackett presents John Anderson with a commemorative
sculpture.
Centre:
The top element is a fragment of a shattered and
partially-melted flint glass lens,
the base is a melted aluminium
crucible. The inscription (added after the central image was taken)
reads
"Stromlo Observatory 2003".
Right:
The Deputy PM shows the sculpture to Don Faulkner and Tom Frame.
Authors Tom Frame and Don Faulkner talked of the joys of
co-authorship. It is obvious that they are a happy and successful
team, and it shows in the quality of the book. Both were kept busy
signing the 80 or so copies that were sold at the event. The message
of the book was summed up by Don, "Make no mistake about it, you
are standing in one of the world's great observatories!".
Left:
The authors busy signing some of the 80 books sold at the event.
Right:
Miss Joan Duffield, daughter of our first Director, signing a copy of
the book for Mike Nelmes.
Mike's thesis on the Oddie telescope will be
a prime reference for the future replication of the telescope.
To quote our Director, Penny Sackett, "To understand the factors
that have shaped Mt Stromlo and its place in world astronomy and
Australian heritage over the past 80 years is to understand what will
mould its next eight decades. The elements of the Stromlo story are
common to many human sagas: excellence and determination, invention
and discovery, challenge and setback, self-reliance and teamwork,
foresight and good fortune, sinew and spirit". Frame and Faulkner
have it all in a very readable package.
"Stromlo, an Australian Observatory", by Tom Frame and Don
Faulkner, is published by Allen & Unwin. Available
from Starwares gift shop ( starwares@mso.anu.edu.au )
and all good booksellers. Due to a decision made by our previous
Director, Jeremy Mould, to keep the price as low as possible, and to a
sterling effort on the part of the publisher, it costs just $35.
For Allen & Unwin's review of the book click
here.
For more images of the event, click here.
Many of the images for this report were taken with Stromlo's new Nikon
digital cameras, donated by Maxwell Optical Industries as
their sponsorship of our rebuilding program.
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