P006821 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Corporate Body created 2020-03-03 human Helen Cohn updated 2026-03-05 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P006821b.htm corporateBody Williamstown Observatory Colony of Victoria AACR2 July 1853 November 1863 Start Place Williamstown, Victoria, Australia Observatory Astronomy or Space Science The Williamstown Observatory was established in 1853 on a site southwest, but close to the centre, of Melbourne. Its purpose was to undertake astronomical observations to provide accurate time signals so that ships's crews might correct their chronometers. Robert Ellery was Superintendent of the Observatory and, from 1858, Director of the colony's Geodetic Survey. For various reasons the Observatory's instruments were not always fit for purpose particularly in its early years. In addition the encroaching city created conditions that militated against the optimal operation of the instruments. In 1863 the Observatory merged with the Flagstaff Observatory to form the Melbourne Observatory at a new site in South Yarra, just to the south of the city. Ellery was Director of the new Observatory and Victorian Government Astronomer until 1895. Ellery, Robert Lewis John (1827 - 1908)

Superintendent 1853 - 1863

 Melbourne Observatory, Colony and State of Victoria (1863 - 1944) 'Williamstown Observatory', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Williamstown Observatory Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Resource Section: Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria 2026 Resource Section: Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria 2026 Resource Section: Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria 2026 Resource Section: Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria 2026 Resource Section: Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria collections - Items Museums Victoria 2026 Resource Section: Williamstown Observatory, 1853 - 1863 Gillespie, Richard Williamstown Observatory, 1853 - 1863 Melbourne Museums Victoria 2008 Museum Victoria collections - articles Thesis: Some Foundations of Science in Victoria in the Decade After Separation Cohn, Helen M. Some Foundations of Science in Victoria in the Decade After Separation Melbourne University of Melbourne 1990 Journal Article: Our Observatory: the story of its establishment Ross, C. Stuart Our Observatory: the story of its establishment 1918 Victorian historical magazine 6 4 134-44