John Tebbutt - Observatory

Observatory

In 1864 he built, with his own hands, a small observatory close to his father's residence, and installed his instruments consisting of his 3¼-inch telescope, a two-inch transit instrument, and an eight day half-seconds box-chronometer. Shortly before this period Tebbutt had begun to record meteorological observations, and in 1868 published these for the years 1863 to 1866 under the title Meteorological Observations made at the Private Observatory of John Tebbutt, Jnr.

He continued the publication of these records at intervals for more than 30 years. He had also begun a long series of papers which were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, in the Astronomical Register, London, and in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. He contributed to other scientific journals, and made an immense number of contributions to the Australian press.

In 1872 a 4.5-inch (0.11 m) equatorial refracting scope was purchased for the observatory, in 1881 Tebbutt discovered another great comet, and in 1886 a new telescope of 8-inch (200 mm) aperture and 115-inch (2.9 m) focal length was purchased, which enabled him to considerably extend his operations. He published in 1887 History and Description of Mr Tebbutt's Observatory, and followed this with a yearly Report for about 15 years.

A branch of the British Astronomical Society was established at Sydney in 1895 and Tebbutt was elected its first president. In 1904 in his seventieth year he discontinued systematic work, though he retained his interest in astronomy and continued to do some observing, and in the following year the Royal Astronomical Society of London recognised his work by awarding him the Jackson-Gwilt Medal of the society.

In 1908, Tebbutt published his Astronomical Memoirs, giving an account of his 54 years' work, and he was much gratified in 1914, during the visit of the British association, by a visit to his observatory of a small party of astronomers. He died at Windsor on 29 November 1916.

He was commemorated on the reverse side of the Australian one hundred-dollar note (in circulation 1984 until 1996 when it was replaced by a portrait of Sir John Monash).