Sydney Observatory Papers No.31
SYDNEY OBSERVATORY : 1858 to 1958 Part 6
By HARLEY WOOD*37375
HENRY ALFRED LENEHAN and WILLIAM EDWARD RAYMOND
Henry Alfred Lenehan was born in Sydney on 1843, August 29. In
August, 1870, immediately after Russell became Government Astronomer,
Lenehan was appointed as his assistant and was for many years
responsible for the transit work. In 1892 he suffered a paralytic
stroke and was given leave for six months during which he visited
Europe and made contact with Observatory work there. When Russell
took sick on 1903, October 14, Lenehan was appointed Acting
Government Astronomer.
At this time he worked in co-operation with several interesting
visitors. Otto Klotz of the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, made
observations of “Transpacific
Longitudes” in 1903-1904 and closed the
circuit of longitudes around the world for the first time with
observations made at Sydney in 1903, September and November. [pg. 18]
In 1903, too, Professor W.J. Hussey examined possible observatory
sites in Australia for theCarnegie Institute. Measurement of the
force of gravity at the Observatory and magnetic measurements at the
branch ofthe Observatory at Red Hill were made in June, 1904, by O.
Hecker of the Central Bureau der Internationalen Erdmessung and in
January, 1906, by A. Allessio of the Italian cruise “Calabria”
Apparently Hecker’s visit, stimulated
Lenehan to erect at Box Hill a smallbuilding in which to do the
magnetic work “ now not possible at
Sydney ”. Short carried this work for
many more years.
The Federal Government had been established in 1901 and its
constitutional powers included the administration of astronomical and
meteorological observation. Politically more important matters
delayed discussion of this but a conference of State astronomers to
discuss it was held in Adelaide in May, 1905, at Lenehan’s suggestion and a conference of the state
premiers in April, 1906, decided that the Commonwealth should take
over the meteorological services but leave, the astronomical
observatories in the hands of the states. H. A. Hunt was appointed
Commonwealth Meteorologist at the beginning of 1907 and Lenehan was
appointed Government Astronomer.
Soon after the conference, Lenehan was told that the Observatory
would be moved to Red Hill and its administration transferred to the
University of Sydney. In November, 1906, however, he was informed
that the transfer to the University would not take place although the
plans to move were still continued. On 1907, April 3, Lenchan wrote
to the Under Secretary, to suggest that a site about two miles west
of Hornsby would be between and “A
Memorial concerning a new site for Sydney Observatory”, issued by the N.S.W. Branch of the British
Astronomical Association, widened the whole question. A committee,
appointed at Lenehan’s request,
examined sites near Sydney, in the Blue Mountains and Canoblas
Mountain near Orange. In 1907, May, the Committee recommended the
Canoblas site, which was one favoured by Hussey. However, possibly
because of the public protest about the proposal to establish the
Mint on the present Observatory site, Lenehan was told that the
removal of the Observatory was to be left in abeyance.
Russell had in 1888 obtained a Ewing seismograph and in 1901 a
Milne seismograph, the latter as of a widespread plan recommended by
the British Association for the Advancement of Science. According to
Raymond some results were obtained from the first instrument but
continuous recording had not taken place with either one owing to
heavy blasting work on the Harbour foreshores. After the San
Francisco earthquake on 1906, April 18, continuous recording was
carried on from 1906, May 17, until 1948.
Lenehan attempted to organise the transit work to progress more
systematically. Many thousands of observations, mainly for reference
stars for the Astrographic Catalogue, were made although no results
had been published beyond 1881. Impressed with the need for
publication of these Lenehan in 1907 obtained a grant to publish the
accumulated manuscript and arranged discussions with Baracchi on the
form in which it should be published. Lenehan died too soon for
anything to be accomplished.
Other activities in Lenehan's time included observations of Comet
Daniel in 1907, participation by Observatory state members in the
expedition to Flint Island for the total solar eclipse of 1908 and
continuance of tidal work, which was carried on at several ports,
including, Sydney, Newcastle, Macleay River, Clarence River and
Yamba. From the beginning, Lenehan made efforts to improve the
instrumental equipment. Alterations were made to the chronographs,
the transit instrument and the building at Red Hill, and a new
sidereal clock was ordered. In 1906 [pg. 19] some additions were made
on the eastern side of the northern wing of the Observatory, and, in
1907, he began negotiations for the purchase of a 15 inch refractor
for which he had obtained a vote of £2,000. The possibility of
moving delayed the placing of the order, for it was not known whether
the telescope would be placed in a new dome or accommodated by
alterations to an existing dome. Then early in 1908 Lenehan had
another stroke from which appeared to be recovering, but he died on
May 2 and all of the plans for increasing, the instrumental resources
or moving the 0bservatory lapsed.
Lenehan had had a difficult period of office when the future of
the Observatory was in doubt and most of the plans he formed were not
permitted to bear fruit, partly because of the shortness of his term.
He quarrelled constantly with Hunt who succeeded in separating the
work of the meteorological Branch and building up his prestige as a
step towards taking over the Commonwealth meteorological work.
Lenehan’s diaries are more interesting
than most of the old records as he includes more human details and
comments. Of an error by a navigating officer he wrote, “I presume he was distracted by the usual
petticoat that distracts most
mortals”.
William Edward Raymond, who took charge of the Observatory when he
returned in January, 1908, from the Flint Island eclipse expedition
and found Lenehan ill, remained Officer-in-Charge until 1912. He was
born on 1871, May 25, and came to the Observatory in June, 1900,
afterhaving previously been engaged in trigonometrical survey work.
His work at the Observatory was with the transit instrument. With few
changes he continued the transit work,magnetic observations and
seismograph recording, except that in 1911 he had installed for the
Milne seismograph anew recorder with a faster paper speed. In
February, 1911, he co-operated with the Observatories in Adelaide and
Perth to observe the position on the boundary between Victoria and
South Australia.
One interesting event during this period was the appearance of
Halley’s Comet. After receiving word on
1909, September 15, that the comet had been recovered by Wolf of
Hedelberg on September 11, Raymond himself saw itfirst at the end of
November, after which he devoted a great deal of time to observing
the comet and satisfying the public demand for information about it.
From the middle of April to the beginning of June, 1910, it was a
naked[-]eye object except for a short period when it was near
conjunction with the Sun. It made a transit of the Sunon May 19, when
Raymond and a small party of local astronomers made a careful
examination, which included the taking of a photograph at Red Hill,
but the comet was too tenuous for them to see any trace of it on the
Sun. In 1911 Raymond and Short went with the expeditions to Vavau in
the Friendly Islands for the eclipse of April 29.
Raymond continued his work, mainly at the transit instrument,
until his retirement in April, 1936. He died on 1937, January 15.
Last Update : 14th November 2012
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