42 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION A. 



and power upon the earth." Moreover, the Australasian Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science urges that " the practical 

 possibilities, combined with the scientific value of solar research, 

 make the project of national as well as of international import- 

 ance." 



The arguments for the establishment in Australia of an 

 Observatory devoted to Solar Physics are summarised below : — 



International Reasons. 

 The necessity for Australian co-operation with other nations 

 in solar work is exemplified under the following heads : — 



{a) Australia s position in longitude would enable her to 

 fill a gap at present existing in the chain of Observa- 

 tories round the earth. 

 (&) Australia's position in latitude. No station devoted to 

 solar research exists south of the Equator, where one is 

 required to extend and verif}^ the work of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution's Observatory at Washington, 

 (c) Australia's Climatic Conditions would allow investiga- 

 gations to be made under excellent conditions at a 

 time of year when, on account of the rainy season, work 

 is generally impossible at other Observatories. 



National Reasons. 



{a) The Advancement of Science. 



ih) The Educational advantages accruing from the study 

 of an intellectual subject. 



(c) The Practical advantages which Meteorology may fairly 

 expect to gain from a proper understanding of the con- 

 nection between solar and terrestrial phenomena. 



History of the Movement. 



In April, 190,7, a letter to the Adelaide papers aroused some 

 interest in the matter, and the Premier of South Australia was 

 asked for funds to enable the Adelaide Observatory to undertake 

 the work. This was refused on the ground that the Observatory 

 was about to be absorbed by the Commonwealth Government. 



At the last Congress of the International Solar Research Union 

 in Paris in May, 1907, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 

 proposed a resolution supporting the movement, and this was 

 carried unanimously. 



A copy of this resolution was forwarded by the Chairman 

 of the International Union to the Colonial Office, whence it was 

 referred to the Governor-General of Australia. 



The Commonwealth Government, in the absence of an Astro- 

 nomical Department, referred the matter to the Meteorological 

 Department, which reported that "it is very desirable that such 

 an Observatory should be established, etc.," and- enquiries were 



