The Linden Observatory Complex is a heritage-listed former observatory and manufacture of optical precision implements and now residence, museum, observatory, education facility and meeting venue located at 91–111 Glossop Road, Linden, City of Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by Ken Beames from 1938 to 1948. It is also known as K Beames Engineering Co. The property is owned by the Linden Observatory Trust. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 March 2010.
History Foundations of modern astronomy Astronomy, it can be argued, is the oldest science in the world and practised by many of the ancient cultures. In ancient times astronomical practise involved the observation of the skies with the naked eye, noting the changes in and movement of the Sun, stars and planets using this information to plot ritual or agricultural calendars. Some of the earliest recorded astronomical observations were made by the Chinese which date from the 6th century BC. One of these observations note the regular eclipses of the Moon which were explained as the Moon being attacked by a hungry dragon. People diligently made as much noise as possible so the dragon would flee.
Western astronomy has its genesis in the kingdoms of Sumer and Assyria where priests used observation of the heavens for purposes of divination. Based in these practises Babylonia is credited with the development of a more sophisticated observation of the skies and detecting the periodic nature of astronomical activity that is able to be predicted through mathematics. The work of the Babylonian astronomers was the basis for Greek, Indian, Sassanian, Byzantine, Islamic, Central Asian and western European astrology.
In the 4th century BC Greek astronomers were the first to develop a three dimensional model to describe the motion of the planets around the Earth. Later, a slowly developing debate regarding the Earth versus the Sun as the centre of this movement grew, culminating in the work of Copernicus who posited a mathematically supported system where the planets revolved around the Sun. His work was later expanded by Galileo and Kepler.
Up until the 17th century, astronomy was positional and depended on observations of the naked eye. In the early 17th century a new instrument, the telescope was invented by Hans Lipperhey and quickly taken up and improved upon by Galileo Galilei. In 1610, armed with his 20 XX refractor telescope, Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter and for the first time in history observed the movement of a satellite around a planet. Using his telescope Galileo also observed that the phases of Venus were similar to lunar phases and argued that these observations empirically supported the theory that the Earth moves around the Sun.
James Kepler a contemporary of Galileo's supported Galileo's observations. He was the first to attempt to derive mathematical predictions of celestial motions from assumed physical cases. Years of his research culminated in the publication of his "Epitome of Copernican Astronomy" in 1615 in which his three laws of planetary motion were outlined, theorising a heliocentric planetary system. By 1687 the marriage of physics and astronomy reached its epitome as Isaac Newton realised that the same force which attracted objects to the Earth also fixed the Moon in orbit around the Earth and posited the law of universal gravitation.Pannekoek. 1961.
European astronomy in NSW In 1768 Cook set sail from Plymouth in England. His destination was Tahiti where he, the accompanying astronomer, two artists and two naturalists were to observe and document the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. Observation and documentation of the transit was to provide an accurate measurement of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The southern ocean in 1769 was known to be the best place to take such a measurement. On his return journey, Cook "discovered" the east coast of Australia which he mapped on this journey home.
In 1788 the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay and then moved on to settle on the shores of Sydney Cove. With the fleet was a young Lieutenant William Dawes, who had had a deep interest in astronomy. Dawes was charged with the task of setting up the first observatory in the colony and carried all the requisite equipment to do this on the long voyage to the colony. He was to observe the predicted return of Halley's comet in 1789. Dawes pitched his "tent-observatory" on a rocky, heavily wooded ridge on the west side of Sydney Cove, a kilometre away from the first settlement. The area was later named Dawes Point. A plaque placed on the south pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge commemorates Dawes observatory. Despite his attention to the night skies, Dawes did not observe the comet.
In late 1821 Governor Brisbane ordered the establishment of an observatory at Parramatta from where he, with the help of two assistants, began the process of mapping the southern skies. Brisbane equipped the observatory with the finest instruments available at the time and installed a scientific library in the building. This facility was operational up until 1847 and the published findings from this observatory marked Australia's first significant contribution to international astronomy. The site of this observatory is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.
In 1858 under the supervision of the Colonial Astronomer of NSW, Rev. William Scot, the construction of the Sydney Observatory at the Rocks was commenced, It was completed in 1859 although the first observations were recorded in 1858. The observatory included a central time-ball tower, a dome to accommodate an equatorial telescope and a transit room for meridian instruments. This was the first government funded observatory established in Australia with others established in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by the close of the 19th century. Like the Parramatta observatory site the Sydney Observatory is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register to commemorate its heritage values.
During the second half of the 19th century the nation's first astronomical groups and societies were established and a strong community of amateur astronomers and telescope makers emerged. The amateur practitioners funded their own facilities and made an enormous contribution to astronomy in Australia. John Tebutt was one of the most significant of these amateur astronomers. Inspired to pursue astronomy by his observation of the spectacular Donati's comet in 1858, Tebutt became internationally acclaimed in 1861 when he became the first person to discover the "Great Comet".Comet Tebbutt II 1861 Tebutt established an observatory at Windsor in 1864 and continued to make important observations in the southern skies "including lunar occultation of stars, eclipses and shadow transits of the satellites of Jupiter, the position of minor planets and double and variable stars". Once again this pioneering observatory, "Peninsular House" is listed on the State Heritage Register.Haynes, et al. 1996p 118.
Ken Beames who designed and constructed the Observatory complex at Linden was part of this strong tradition of amateur astronomy of the late 19th and early 20th century. As historian of astronomy in Australia Wayne Orchiston points out the amateur cohort of astronomers fall into 3 categories:"apprentices, journeymen and masters. Apprentices are just beginning their astronomical careers, while masters are those acknowledged experts who are able to communicate effectively with professional astronomers in their own chosen fields of expertise. Kenneth Beams was very definitely a master".Orchiston, 1989.
Unlike most other amateur astronomers Beames' field of interest was in the design and construction of telescopes and optical instruments rather than the observation of the night skies. In fact during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Beams was one of the few if not the only amateur or professional astronomers making telescopes and other optical instruments for astronomy in NSW. In a newspaper article from 1970 Beames noted that he had made in excess of 450 telescopes ranging from 6 inch to 24 inch instruments.Holland 2008. This is unusual during the mid decades of the twentieth century when most astronomical instruments were imported from Britain, Europe or America.Orchiston, 2009
Although not a professional astronomer, Beames' work making telescopes and other instruments has been praised by both amateur and professional astronomers as masterpieces of craftsmanship and engineering which have contributed to the development of the field in NSW and Australia. The 24 inch reflector telescope Beames completed in 1939 was the largest amateur or professionally constructed reflector telescope in NSW and retained this status until the 40 inch and 24 inch telescopes were constructed and installed at the Siding Spring Observatory in the mid 1960s. The only other amateur built telescope to rival Beames was that built by Captain Baker in 1868 for the Ballarat Observatory and the only professional telescope that was larger than Beames 24 inch telescope was the 30 inch Reynolds Reflector telescope at Mr Stromlo. The Beames 24 inch telescope was also unique as one of the first large telescopes in Australia to incorporate electric motor drives to operate the telescope and dome.
Beames designed and engineered other optical instruments for astronomical uses by amateur and professional organisations in NSW. One example of such an instrument is the blink comparator commissioned by Father O'Leary of the Riverview College Observatory which was completed in 1939. This instrument is still held in the Riverview Observatory Collection and is likely to be the first blink comparator designed and engineered in Australia. After World War II these instruments became commonplace.Orchiston 2009
Kenneth Beames Kenneth Beames was born in Gilgandra in 1899. His first job was at the Gligandra Post Office where as a telegram boy he learned morse code and soon moved on to becoming a telegraph operator and postal officer. He also learned semaphore. During World War I Ken Beams served as a signaller for the Australian Light Horse in Palestine and on returning to Australia he trained in electrical and mechanical engineering after war. He then served an apprenticeship as a telephone technician later moving onto the area of wireless making.
In 1924 he established a business making wireless sets which operated from his home first in Clemens St, Drummoyne near Five Dock and expanded to include the manufacture of various electric appliances, gaskets and washers. By the 1930s his business was known as Ken Beames Engineering Company.
In the 1930s Beames began studying optics and mathematics in pursuit of his interest in astronomy. In 1934 he completed his first telescope, a 6-inch or 15.2 cm equatorial mount, reflector telescope. Late in the 1930s he began work on a 24-inch (610 mm) reflector telescope at this workshop in Drummoyne. He obtained the glass blank from Chance Brothers in England, and then set about constructing an electric grinding machine to grind and polish the blank. At the same time he worked on the equatorial mounting and the telescope tube and the optical and engineering work were complete by 1939 although the telescope was not assembled until after World War II. During the 1940s Beames also mounted a 17-inch (432 mm) Schmidt telescope and a 6inch (162 mm) refractor telescope used guide scope on the side of the main telescope. The Schmidt was never completed as the corrector plate was stolen before it was installed.