Sir, – Further to Dr J Patrick Greene's article on the Dublin-built Great Melbourne Telescope ("Designed in Ireland, erected in Australia, pointed at the stars", Abroad, April 21st), when the telescope was shipped to Melbourne, it was never erected at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria. It was actually installed at Melbourne Observatory, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Melbourne Observatory was not, and never has been, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens. The land on which Melbourne Observatory stands was excised from the Victorian Government House Reserve, specifically for the establishment of an observatory for the study and mapping of the southern skies and for the accurate determination of time.
Although the fire-storm in January 2003 destroyed Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra and destroyed the telescopes there, the impact on the Great Melbourne Telescope was minimal as very little of the original 1868 telescope remained. The telescope had been rebuilt a number of times in the second half of the 20th century and most of the original surplus parts had been collected in the 1980s and returned to Melbourne. Of the original telescope, only four large cast-iron components experienced the 2003 fire and were little affected. These were recovered after the fire and were also returned to Melbourne to join the collection of original parts already stored there. Before restoration works began in June 2009, about 80 to 90 per cent of the 1868 telescope, including one of the two original 48-inch diameter speculum mirrors, were in storage.
Finally, your readers may be wondering why restoration work has taken 11 years to date, with probably two or three years still to go. Part of the answer is money, or rather, the lack of it. Shortcuts and economies have had to be made. Hopefully these will still result in a wonderful instrument for public viewing but it will have come at the cost of many years of delay. – Yours, etc,
JAMES POLLOCK,
Director,
Great Melbourne
Telescope Restoration
Section,
Astronomical Society
of Victoria,
Melbourne,
Australia.