Sydney Observatory: the dome that brings the stars to Australians

A site once used to guide ships and tell the time focused its attention on the skies in the latter part of the 19th century - and hasn't looked back

When Australia's first government astronomer, William Scott, took up his posting in 1858 in Sydney, his equipment was so defective that, according to his diary records, it "destroyed all confidence in the result furnished by it". And the shutters that were supposed to protect the finely calibrated instruments within the dome let in "a considerable quantity of rain" when the wind was high.

It was an uneasy start to an important mission. But Scott would probably be pleased to learn that the observatory he built in Sydney still stands. And more than 150 years later the dome that looks over the city is continuing to fulfil the role Scott envisioned of opening the stars to all Australians.