Item MM 137399 Digital Image - William John MacDonnell & Private Observatory, Mosman, New South Wales, 1910

Summary

William John Macdonnell (1842-1910), amateur astronomer, sitting in front of his observatory in his home at Mosman, New South Wales, 23 January 1910.

William John Macdonnell was one of the leading amateur astronomers in New South Wales in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1907 he acquired a 4 ¾ inch (12.1 cm) refractor telescope by James Parkes & Son, Birmingham, pictured here.

Description of Content

Three men sitting in front of a backyard observatory. People from left to right are: Unidentified male; William John Macdonnell; George Denton Hirst, amateur astronomer and close friend of Macdonnell.

Physical Description

Digital image copied from the original, a silver gelatin photograph pasted onto mounting board.

Significance

Photographs of amateur astronomers and their observatories in Australia in the 19th and early 20th centuries are rare. This photograph and related images provide an insight into the role of amateur astronomers in the development of astronomy in Australia. William John Macdonnell was, along with John Tebbutt, the most significant amateur astronomer in New South Wales in the second half of the 19th century.