Tebbutt Observatory, Windsor, NSW, Australia
S 33° 36.402 E 150° 49.854
56H E 298751 N 6279341
This is #10 on a self-guided walk, as advertised by the "Hawkesbury Australia" tourism website.
Waymark Code: WMV5P9
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 02/27/2017
Views: 6
One option to see this beautiful and practical building is by the Hawkesbury Valley Walking Tour: (
visit link) and this is one of the first 13 points to visit, with a walk of possibly 75 minutes.
The 'main' observatory building was erected in 1879, with the one that is used as a 'passive' Trig Point being erected in 1874 (a bit hidden behind a large tree).
"There are a number of buildings on the site. The first observatory built in 1863 has been demolished. By using a transit instrument, Tebbutt was able to establish local mean time. The second observatory (the circular building) was built in 1874 to accommodate a larger telescope and finally the striking square building was built in 1879.
"Tebbutt himself became one of the worlds most accomplished amateur astronomers. He was a "gentleman farmer" who maintained a passion for astronomy. He discovered the "Great Comet of 1861" and "Comet Tebbutt of 1881" as well as many other important meteorological phenomena. In 1873, Tebbutt was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. The International Astronomical Union honoured Tebbutt in 1973, some 57 years after his death, by naming a Luna crater "The Tebbutt Crater". In 1984 he was depicted on the $100 note. The observatories are still owned by his great grandson John Halley Tebbutt. He and his family live in the original home built in 1845. Great grandson Tebbutt has restored the observatories which house items of scientific interest. They are open to the public." [Windsor Walk - 10. John Tebbutt F.R.A.S. Observatories]
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