92 The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. [April 
with the growth of these institutions must recognize how large a share 
they have had in turning the scientific attention of the people of the colony 
into a particular direction. The kind of work which the museums have 
done for natural science we might expect that an observatory would do 
for astronomy. It is quite true that causes other than the one mentioned 
have contributed to the advancement of natural science ; a new country, 
and one whose flora and fauna are so peculiar as those of New Zealand, 
must always excite attention and have special charms for the naturalist. 
But have we not here also a new star-field to explore, and new constella¬ 
tions to examine ? 
“ It is really a very curious fact that this colony should have provided 
itself so well with museums, and that it should be without an efficient 
observatory. We, of course, expect to find both kinds of institution in 
the older countries of Europe. But, whatever may have been done for 
museums in newer countries, it is quite certain that in most of them 
observatories have not been forgotten. There are at least twelve in the 
United States, there is at least one in Canada, there is one at the Cape of 
Good Hope, one at Sydney, one at Melbourne, and one at Adelaide. Thus 
it appears that New Zealand is the only considerable British colony without 
an observatory. And these colonial observatories were established in the 
early days of their respective colonies, and they have all done signal 
service to the cause of astronomy. That at the Cape of Good Hope was 
founded in the year 1820, and it was from observations made there in 
1832 and 1833 that the distance of a Centauri, the nearest of the few 
stars whose distances have been even roughly ascertained, was determined. 
It was to the Cape of Good Hope that Sir John Herschel went in 1835 
for the purpose of observing the southern nebulae ; and it was whilst 
there that he closely observed the curious changes which took place in 
Halley’s Comet after it had passed perihelion, and after it had become 
invisible in the north. The Sydney Observatory sprang out of one which 
was originally founded at Parramatta, in 1821, by Sir Thomas Brisbane, 
who was at that time Governor of New South Wales. He furnished it 
with excellent instruments, and ‘ in the same noble spirit of disinterested 
liberality, he employed, at his own expense, two qualified assistants to 
aid him in his astronomical labours.’ From observations made here, two 
catalogues, each containing several thousands of stars, were published. 
It was here also that Riimker, one of the assistants above alluded to, 
observed the return of Enke’s Comet in 1822. This was the first return 
of the comet after it had been ascertained to be periodic : it was therefore 
of great importance that good observations of it should be secured, and 
the comet was not visible in Europe. The Melbourne Observatory was 
founded in 1853, but it was not till some years later that the buildings at 
present in use were erected and the observatory put into a thoroughly 
efficient state. Still, it speaks well for the people of Victoria that, at a 
time when the gold fever was at its height, such an institution was 
thought of. It is worthy of remark that about the same time the 
Melbourne University and the Public Library were founded. Excellent 
work has on several occasions been done at the Melbourne Observatory : 
notably, it was the observations there made on Mars, at his near approach 
to the Earth in 1862, used in conjunction with those made at Greenwich, 
that gave the best determination which up to that time had been arrived 
at of the Sun’s distance from the Earth. These points in connection with 
these southern colonial observatories have been mentioned to show that they 
