Location: 84 Palmer Street, Windsor, NSW, 2756
Country: Dharug
LGA: City of Hawkesbury
Region: Nepean
Website: http://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/museum/exhibitions/online-exhibitions2/starry-night-the-world-of-john-tebbutt
Map: below
John Tebbutt’s Observatory, in the IAT Town of Windsor, is one of Australia’s most significant ninieteenth-century astro-heritage sites, and one of the least known. It is now closed to the public and in urgent need of philanthropic, government and community support to ensure its future.
Scholarly literature and other articles about John Tebbutt (1834-1916), his remarkable astronomical achievements, the observatories he built, and his historic homestead and farm are available online, however, and the Hawkesbury Regional Museum has a permanent exhibition on his work.
Captions:
Top feature image: Exhibition of Tebbutt’s achievements at the City of Hawkesbury Museum.
Gallery 1: Exterior views of the Tebbutt family homestead, Peninsula House, and several of its observatory buildings.
Gallery 2: Interior images of John Tebbut’s observatory, including the astronomers great-grandson, also called John Tebbutt.
Photos by Merrill Findlay, 31 July 2024.
For more about John Tebbutt and his observatory, see Hawkesbury City Council’s Starry Night – The World of John Tebbutt, exhibition.
John Tebbutt: The Hawkesbury stargazer who lit up the skies
Wikipedia: Peninsula House and Tebbutt’s Observatory
Virtual tour of the Observatory
Trove, National Library of Australia: History and description of Mr. Tebbutt’s observatory, Windsor, New South Wales
Wayne Orchiston, 2004, John Tebbutt and observational astronomy at Windsor Observatory, Journal of the British Astronomy Association, no. 3, p. 141.
Wayne Orchiston, 2017, The role of the independent astronomer in early Australian astronomy
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Post created 30 July 2024. Last revised 25 September, 2025.
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