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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.
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Engravings
Amateur astronomers ladies and gents at
the Great Melbourne Telescope
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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.
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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