Series 744 - Mount Stromlo Observatory papers and plans

The Mount Stromlo Observatory was established in 1924 as the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. The site had been used for observations since an observatory was established there by Pietro Baracchi using the Oddie telescope in 1911. The dome built to house the Oddie telescope was the first Commonwealth building constructed in the newly established Australian Capital Territory. Until World War II, the observatory specialised in solar and atmospheric observations. During the war the workshops contributed to the war effort by producing gun sights, and other optical equipment. After the war, the observatory shifted direction to stellar and galactic astronomy and was renamed The Commonwealth Observatory. Following the establishment of the Australian NAtional University in 1946 a formal amalgamation took place in 1957, with Mount Stromlo Observatory becoming part of the Department of Astronomy in the Research School of Physical Sciences at ANU. The Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics was formed in 1986 and continues.

On 18 January 2003 a firestorm hit Mount Stromlo destroying telescopes, workshops, homes, and the administration building. The only telescope to escape the fires was the 1886 15-centimetre Farnham telescope.

The Commonwealth Solar Observatory was established in January 1924, one of its purposes being the study of solar phenomena. By 1950 the Observatory's name had changed, becoming the Commonwealth Observatory. In 1957 the observatory located at Mount Stromlo became part of the Australian National University as the Department of Astronomy in the Research School of Physical Sciences.