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Robert Lewis John Ellery. F.R.S.
F.R.A.S Bronze Bust
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As a project
for the year 2002, Southern Skies Astronomy
is establishing " The Ellery Trust"
fund to superintend the casting of a bronze
bust of R.L.J. Ellery. To be erected within
the year, in a public place, free from all
encumbrances, at Observatory Gate, the Royal
Botanic Gardens Melbourne.Director of the
old Melbourne Observatory for nearly 40 years
from the mid 19th Century. Eventually transforming
it into a modern observatory of the 20th Century.
Ellery gave it a international reputation
which has largely been forgotten and ignored.
The knowledge gained during those years was
used by the Federal government in selecting
Mt.Strmolo as the best place for Australia's
National Observatory. |
For the new colony of
Victoria he was charged with the commission
of surveying all its known land, boundaries
were defined, maps laid out, the land cut
and parceled.
He was involved in establishing
the first Australian telegraph line, running
between Williamstown and Melbourne. Using
the telegraph he became the first astronomer
in Australia to confirm the sighting of
a comet.
Towards safe passage for
ships he established protocols for the checking
of time and the correction of ships chronometers,
enabling Melbourne to develop as a centre
of commerce. Weather forecasting was considered
as a modern science.
By collating the reports of hundreds of
weather stations in Victoria he was able
to produce weather maps for publishing in
the newspapers of the day. |
Engravings
Amateur astronomers ladies and gents at
the Great Melbourne Telescope
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A
man for all seasons, he was also interested
in music, President of the Royal Society
of Victoria for 20 years, he also sat as
Chairman of the Alfred Hospital.
Ellery often complained
of three factors which interrupted his work,
the weather, the moon, and socialites, of
course he had no control over any of them.
On one occasion Ellery noted that the number
of good nights for viewing was about 40
percent but the best nights only 17 percent
over a 15 year period that the telescope
had been in use" |
Note the copper lamp for
illuminating the spider web cross hairs
of the transit during night time observation,
many a beard would have been singed on the
lamp by absent minded observers. They run
very, very, hot.
The
collapsed brass stand can be diss-assembled
in a minute or so while the instrument fits
into its own mahogany case for transportation.
Ellery took delivery of a 2 foot portable
Transit instrument in October 1860, at a
cost of twenty six pounds, ten shillings.
Photograph showing
lamp regulator clock sextant and 2 foot
Transit instrument
A typical 19th Century
Transit station with a 2 foot focus Troughton
and Simms transit instrument {telescope}
The astronomical regulator counted sidereal
seconds on the large scale, while the two
inner scales counted hours and minutes.
A sextant, hand held telescope and chronometer
would have completed the Transit Station.
Captain Cook took much the
same type of transit Station to the pacific
for the Transit of Venus in 1769. |
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Photograph
Brian with sextant outside main building
Brian taking a noon shot
with a 1850 sextant by: Barry of London:
outside the Main Building of the Observatory
Part of the day to day
routine of the observatory was to check
weights and measures, sextants, surveying
instruments, thermometers and chronometers.
Certificates were issued showing the known
errors of each instrument. |
| Ellery
established weather stations across Victoria
and their readings were telegraphed to the
Observatory where Ellery and his assistants
collated the information, for the weather
maps which were published in the press of
the day. Big game hunting was also a feature
of the observatory site. |
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