Photos of Perth Observatory

Map showing the Giles Meteorological Station we missed in 1968 and bogged at Giles Creek by spelio

We came up from Warburton and the then Gunbarrel Hwy via the Blackstone Ranges See <a href="http://www.westprint.com.au" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.westprint.com.au</a> newsletter.. Gunbarrel Highway, NT &amp; WA. Info from Westprint Mob. The Gunbarrel Highway was built to provide access for Department of National Mapping (Natmap) to complete the geodetic survey of Australia and also for the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) to recover rockets from the same area. High-level support and co-operation between Natmap and WRE resulted in the grading of many tracks specifically designed to achieve the goals of both organisations. Natmap Supervising Geodetic Surveyor, H A (Bill) Johnson led a reconnaissance between Giles and Carnegie Homestead in 1958. He was accompanied by Trevor Nossiter, (Range Reconnaissance Officer with WRE), W McDougall (Aboriginal Affairs Officer) and Len Beadell who would lead the track grading team along Johnson’s marked line. Aerial photographs of this area were not available so Johnson carefully studied John Forrest’s notes and sketches made during his exploration of 1873. Len Beadell’s team graded a track along this line in the latter part of 1958 and the geodetic survey was completed the following year. Introduction by Len Beadell. In February 1946, Australia was approached by the United Kingdom to set up a joint facility for weapons research. This facility, named Woomera and built in the South Australian desert, needed access from a major city, isolation from the general public and vast tracts of uninhabited land for testing. When asked to advise on the siting of the range and the survey of access roads I recommended an area of more than 2,500,000 square kilometres of desert between Woomera and the 80-mile beach between Broome and Port Headland for the main firing range. This huge, almost uninhabited desert waste-land was the most isolated, most remote, most desolate and yet the most suitable area in the world for a rocket range. A ground survey was needed to determine the shape of the earth so that missile tracking instruments could be placed in the right position. This survey resulted in a 6,000-kilometre road network accessing the north-west line of fire for the Woomera Rocket Range. The first task was to construct a road running east to west across the centre of Australia to provide a major service access for the construction of all other linking roads. Being a surveyor who liked to draw neat lines on maps I decided to site the roads in areas where long straight lengths could be built. This would maximise the efficiencies of distance, fuel and maintenance and should be of general benefit to future users. I light-heartedly named my small group of seven the ‘Gunbarrel Highway Construction Party’ as a reference to the alignment of the roads we were building. I led my party in a Landrover, often working alone many hundreds of kilometres in front of the rest of the crew. A D8 Caterpillar bulldozer driven by Doug Stoneham followed. As we started each new section Doug would drive toward a flashing mirror or a flare shot high into the air, then after a few minutes I could carry on with my own work and he would keep a straight line by sighting back over his shoulder. Scotty Boord drove the Number 12 Caterpillar grader. His job was to tidy up after the bulldozer so that the other vehicles could follow. Supplies were carried in three, 3-tonne trucks and a second Landrover, all driven by the remaining four members of our crew. Rex Flatman, our expert mechanic, was in charge of heavy equipment and vehicle maintenance. Bill Lloyd, the long-distance driver, brought up the rations, water and fuel, often from 100 kilometres back along the track we had just made. Those trips were non-stop and made alone. Paul Christensen, our former shearers’ cook, was ideal for keeping the crew fed. He also drove the ration truck. Bill Appleton drove the workshop Landrover and doubled as a general hand and cherry picker, clearing the road of debris after the last pass of the grader. The first 150 kilometres of road to Mulga Park Station was built in 1955 and during the following year we finished the next 550 kilometres to the site where Giles Meteorological Station was to be built. During 1958 we built the last section of 800 kilometres to link Victory Downs Station near the Stuart Highway to Carnegie Station 350 kilometres east of Wiluna. It seemed appropriate that this new road, the first east-west road across the centre of Australia, be called the Gunbarrel Highway. Acknowledgement. I acknowledge my appreciation to the late Len Beadell for the information about the Gunbarrel Highway. Len was the author of seven books about his work in this area. John Deckert. Next week. Explorers in the area. Westprint Friday Five – Friday August 11th, 2017 <a href="http://www.westprint.com.au" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.westprint.com.au</a> Gunbarrel Highway – continued from last week. Explorers of the region. Sir John Forrest. John Forest was born in Bunbury, Western Australia in 1847. Educated in Perth, he later became an experienced surveyor in the Colonial Survey Department. In 1869, at the age of 21, Forrest led a group to investigate Aboriginal reports about the skeletal remains of a party thought to be connected with the lost Leichhardt expedition. Forrest’s party also included George Monger, Malcolm Hammersley, David Morgan and two Aborigines, Tommy Winditch and Jemmy Mungaroo. Forrest’s party travelled past the future townsites of Leonora and Laverton before returning to Perth convinced that the Aboriginal reports had no connection with the Leichhardt expedition. Forrest’s second expedition, ordered by Governor Frederick Weld, travelled from Perth to Esperance and then to Eucla in the Great Australian Bight. On this occasion Forrest was joined by his brother Alexander, Tommy Winditch and three others. The party reached Eucla in July then travelled on to Adelaide, arriving in August 1870. Forrest’s most important exploration left the settlement of Geraldton on April 1, 1874, to cross the Great Victoria Desert, bound for the Overland Telegraph Line. The party of six included Alexander Forrest, James Sweeney, James Kennedy and Aborigines Tommy Pierre and Forrest’s most experienced guide Tommy Winditch. Their passage through the Great Victoria Desert was plagued by lack of water. Temporary pools and rockholes saved them from perishing while crossing the huge distances between the only permanent water found at Alexander Spring, Blyth Pool and Elder Spring in the Southern Tompkinson Ranges near the South Australian border. For his three successful expeditions Forrest received the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society and a government grant of land. In 1876, he married Margaret Elvire Hammersley and was appointed Deputy Surveyor-General of Western Australia. Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia with the introduction of responsible government in 1890. In 1901, he was elected to the first Federal Parliament. Forrest was the first native-born Australian to have a peerage conferred on him, an honour he received just seven months before he died in September 1918. Forrest was responsible for implementing many progressive development schemes in Western Australia. The Goldfields water scheme, the Fremantle harbour scheme, development of extensive railway systems and liberal land legislation in Western Australia were due to his strong leadership. Peter Egerton Warburton was born in England in 1813. He arrived in Adelaide in 1853 and later held the position of Commissioner of Police. Warburton began exploring areas of South Australia around Lake Eyre. In 1872, he was commissioned by Sir Thomas Elder to explore an area from Alice Springs to the Western Australian coast. In early 1873 Warburton set out with his son Richard and five other men. By the time they reached the Western Australian border the party was suffering from lack of water and scurvy. Warburton was hoping to cross Gregory’s tracks along Sturt Creek but believed an error in navigation caused him to miss it. Several days after four of their camels died from what they believed to be chills, (poison bush also killed camels and stock in this area), Warburton found and named Joanna Springs. Warburton’s party struggled for the next ten weeks trying to escape from the desert to the Oakover River, a distance of about 800 kilometres. All men were very weak and Warburton had to be tied to his camel so that he could travel. They reached the Oakover River in December 1873. Ernest Giles was born in Bristol, England, on July 6, 1835, and was educated at Christ’s Hospital in London. His parents migrated to Australia and he joined them in 1851 after completing his education. Giles sought a challenge away from town life and joined a party exploring land in the Darling River region. Baron von Mueller, the Australian Government Botanist, recognised Giles’ experience and in 1872 asked him to lead an expedition from Chambers Pillar to the Western Australian Coast. Although unsuccessful, this expedition added much to European understanding of Central Australia. His next attempt started from the Overland Telegraph Line where it crossed the Alberga River north of the present-day town of Oodnadatta. During this exploration a member of Giles’ party, Alfred Gibson, became lost and perished in an area now known as the Gibson Desert. Giles successfully crossed Western Australia in 1875. He discovered Queen Victoria Spring in the Great Victoria Desert after 17 days waterless travel and reached Perth in November. By mid-January 1876, he started the return journey and crossed Western Australia from the present-day town of Mount Newman to Oodnadatta. Giles became interested in gold mining and was known to be on the Halls Creek field in 1885. Prospectors often sought his advice during his last years as a clerk at Coolgardie. Giles died in 1897. Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller was born in Germany in 1825. He migrated to Australia in 1847 and found employment in Adelaide as a chemist. Von Mueller moved to Melbourne and was appointed Government Botanist in 1853. He accompanied several explorations travelling throughout the eastern states and the Northern Territory. His interest in the flora of Australia led to him giving his support to the funding of Giles explorations in the western region of Australia. Von Mueller was a prodigious writer. It is estimated that he wrote more than 800 articles and books and it was not unusual for him to write 3000 letters a year. His contribution to the botany of Australia and the Pacific were acknowledged by many awards from societies throughout the world. He was made a Baron in 1871 and a Knight in 1879. He died in 1896. Len Beadell, born in New South Wales in 1923, started an apprenticeship in military mapping, later enlisting in the Australian Army Survey Corps. After the war, he accompanied the first scientific expedition into the Alligator River region of Arnhem Land. While still in the army Beadell agreed to carry out an initial survey of the Woomera rocket range. He continued to work on the rocket range after discharge from the army and was responsible for the construction of roads through 2.5 million square kilometres of the Great Sandy, Gibson and Great Victoria deserts. He also located the sites for the first atomic bomb trials at Emu and later at Maralinga. Len Beadell was awarded the British Empire medal in 1958 for his work in building the Gunbarrel Highway. In 1987, he was created a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Mining Surveyors. Astronomers at the Mount Palamar Observatory in California named a newly discovered planet after him in recognition of the road network which later provided access to meteorite craters in Central Australia. In 1988, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and in the following year the Advance Australia Award. During 1992 doctors started treating Len for a heart problem and the following year he underwent major heart surgery. He contracted an infection in the replaced heart valve and died in May 1995. In addition to 6,000 kilometres of roads Len was also the author of seven best-selling books and was involved in the production of a video of his work. Len’s wife Anne, and their three children, Connie-Sue, Gary and Jacqui, all have geographical features in the outback named after them. Division of National Mapping (Natmap) After Federation, a combined meeting of Surveyor’s General recommended that a Geodetic Survey of Australia be undertaken to ensure a consistent basis for the mapping of Australia. Action was slow and it was only after WWII that the need for a Geodetic Survey became essential. The National Mapping Council (NMC) was formed in 1945 and the Division of National Mapping (Natmap) given the lead role in surveying and mapping Australia. Much of eastern Australia was covered with roads that could be used by survey field parties but the vast desert area provided a unique challenge. Natmap was aware of access tracks being graded near Woomera by the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) so negotiations at the highest level resulted in a co-ordinated program. While these tracks gave access to many areas, there were numerous instances where Natmap field parties had to travel hundreds of kilometres across trackless country (Callawa to Well 35 was around 700km). Bush, sand, rock and spinifex had to be negotiated. The terrain was hard on vehicles. Repairs and access to spare parts was difficult. Track making by scraper and following previous wheel-tracks, were ways of reducing the strain on vehicles. Water from Canning Stock Route wells, Natmap’s Jupiter Well, Waldana Well and John Allen Shaft minimised the carting of water. Repairing tyres and performing other minor mechanical repairs was a wearisome process. Establishing permanent Trigonometrical (Trig) survey points not only entailed strenuous climbing with heavy equipment, but also the laborious quarrying and carrying of rock to build large cairns. Such Trig points, as found on the highest features at intervals along the Canning Stock Route, the Anne Beadell Highway and many other tracks, were all surveyed by Natmap to the highest degree of accuracy. (The survey markers found along the road side are Bench Marks used for height reference.) Natmap’s survey work meant that members spent months away from civilisation moving from one survey point to the next. Work generally continued into the early evening and night, when conditions for the necessary survey observations were optimal. Conditions were rough. Men slept in the open. Drinking water was rationed and the diet was tinned food with few fresh vegetables or meat. There was no refrigeration, gas or electricity and a high turnover of staff as many found the “adventure” quickly disappeared. Several of Natmap’s senior management served in WWII in the 2/1st Corps Field Survey Company, Royal Australian Engineers. Bruce Lambert commanded both HA (Bill) Johnson and John (Joe) Lines. Lambert later became the Director of National Mapping and Lines an Assistant Director. Interestingly, when John Lines was Commanding Officer in the Survey Division working in New Guinea, Len Beadell was a Surveyor’s assistant in the same unit. HA Johnson was also one of Beadell’s commanding officers. Photographs, reports and other interesting information is available on the Natmap website: <a href="http://www.xnatmap.org" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.xnatmap.org</a>. To Subscribe or unsubscribe. This newsletter is only sent to those who subscribe. 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Perth Observatory is a tourist attraction, one of the Astronomical observatories in Carilla, Australia. It is located: 45 km from Gosnells, 46 km from Maddington, 80 km from Perth. Read further
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