History of Sydney Observatory
Built in 1858, Sydney Observatory is Australia’s oldest existing observatory and one of the most significant sites in the nation’s scientific history. It was essential to ship navigation, meteorology and timekeeping, but especially for studying the unfamiliar stars of the Southern Hemisphere.
In the 1880s Sydney Observatory gained international recognition when Government Astronomer Henry Chamberlain Russell took some of the first astronomical photographs in the world. Apart from observing and photographing stars, Sydney Observatory staff also participated in survey work and oceanography. The Observatory became a museum in 1982, under the management of the Powerhouse Museum. It is now a museum of astronomy and a public observatory.
To appreciate the history of Observatory Hill it is necessary to imagine it as the highest natural point around Sydney Cove -- before it was dwarfed by skyscrapers. The hill, and the buildings that have occupied it, was visible from as far away as the heads of Port Jackson and up the Parramatta River to Gladesville. The history of the hill relates directly to its elevation and visibility.
The Eora people lived around Sydney Harbour when the British came in 1788. Historical records don’t tell us if they had a specific purpose or name for Observatory Hill, but the European names -- Windmill Hill, Citadel Hill/Fort Phillip, Flagstaff Hill and Observatory Hill -- outline the history of the site since European colonisation.
The site became known as Windmill Hill after the first windmill in New South Wales was built there in 1796 to grind grain into flour for the new colony. By 1806 the windmill had been replaced by larger ones elsewhere.
Imperial rivalry with the French and a revolt by Irish convicts in the early 1800s, led the colonial authorities to consider how to defend Sydney. In 1804 work began on a citadel called Fort Phillip. It was demolished in the 1850s but its eastern ramparts remain; you can see part of these walls from the park outside the Observatory grounds.
Colonists again took advantage of the hill’s elevation and visibility by developing a signal station on the site -- a flagstaff was erected on the north-eastern walls of Fort Phillip between 1808 and 1811, followed by a semaphore mast in the 1820s. A signal-master’s cottage was built in 1848 (this will open to the public at a future date). A messenger’s cottage (now used by museum staff) was built in 1868 for the signal-station messenger. The signal station exchanged maritime information with stations from South Head to Parramatta. As the signal station became more important the hill’s name changed to Flagstaff Hill.
Sydney Observatory was built in 1858 to provide accurate time readings for the colony and to observe stars in the southern sky. Like the signal station, the Observatory required a prominent site so that its time ball could be seen from all around the harbour; it signalled the time to ships and to the people of Sydney. The original building with its time ball tower, telescope dome, computing room and residence was enlarged in 1877. By the early 20th century the hill was renamed Observatory Hill. In 1982 the Observatory became part of what is now the Powerhouse Museum.
Address: Sydney Observatory
Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks
Telephone: 02 9217 0485
Hours: 10.00am to 5.00pm (Closed Christmas Day)
Open nightly - bookings essential on 02 9217 0485
Media & Marketing: (02) 9217 0389
