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INAUGURAL ADDRESS. vd, 
when discussing his qualification prior to his appointment as 
Governor, the Duke of Wellington stated he always did his duty, 
and in addition kept time for the army by his astronomical work. 
Sir Thomas having, after his appointment, tried, but failed, to 
induce the British Government of the day to provide an observa- 
tory for New South Wales, did it himself from his private means ; 
brought out a complete suit of suitable instruments, engaged 
two well-trained assistants, and, on his arrival in the colony, 
erected an observatory near the Government House at Parra- 
matta, and set up his instruments in time to observe the solstice 
im December, 1821, his assistants, Messrs. Runker and Dunlop, 
having arrived a month before. Systematic and important 
observations were carried on by Sir Thomas Brisbane and his 
assistants until 1825, when he retired, and the observatory and 
instruments were purchased by the Government. Mr. Runker, 
being appointed astronomer, continued the observations until 
1829, when he retired, and returned to Europe. Mr. Dunlop 
succeeded him, and carried on the work till 1849, when he also 
retired. After this the observatory was closed, and the instru- 
ments stored away until the completion of the Sydney Observa- 
tory in 1858. . 
This munificent and patriotic act of Sir Thomas Brisbane I 
regard as the earliest indication of the growth of astronomy in 
Australasia. For the first time we have a permanent and well- 
found observatory established, with an accomplised staff of 
observers, who did splendid astronomical work, and left behind 
them valuable contributions to the science, not the least being 
the well-known Parramatta Catalogue of 7385 stars ; moreover, 
Sir Thomas Brisbane’s instruments afterwards did good service 
in the early days of the Sydney Observatory until replaced by 
the more modern and powerful ones now in use, and it may be 
said that astronomy has, with a brief gap, progressed from 
Brisbane’s arrival to the present time. 
While Dunlop was still occupied with his work at the Parra- 
matta Observatory it became necessary to define the boundary 
line between South Australia and the Port Phillip District of 
New South Wales, now the colony of Victoria. The Imperial 
Act of Parliament fixed this boundary as the 141st meridian of 
east longitude. The determination of the precise locality of 
a meridian involves a considerable amount of astronomical work, 
which in this instance was entrusted to Mr. Tyers, an excellent 
surveyor and astronomical observer of New South Wales, who, 
after considerable difficulty, fixed the position of the 141st 
meridian in 1839. From the point given by Mr. Tyers, near the 
mouth of the Glenelg River, the line was run north a consider- 
able distance by Messrs. Wade and White, two Port Phillip sur- 
veyors, marked by cairns of stones at various points, and after- 
wards proclaimed in the “South Australian Gazette” as the 
