9 Dec 1874 - Transit of Venus observed
On 9 December 1874 at 11:30am Henry Chamberlain Russell witnessed the first Transit of Venus at the Sydney Observatory in 105 years.
His report records:
At 12h. 16m I first observed the halo.... It was very remarkable and beautiful, like a fringe of green light, through which the faintest tinge of red could be seen
Russell was the Director of the Sydney Observatory and the first Australian born Government Astronomer in NSW. He published his book, Observations of the Transit of Venus, in 1892.
The transit occurs when Venus moves onto the face of the sun; it had last been seen when Captain Cook visited the Pacific in 1769 and witnessed the transit from Tahiti. The most recent Transit of Venus occurred on 5-6 June 2012. The Royal Astronomical Society states future transits won't be visible until 2117.
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Sydney Observatory guide
A large number of the Observatory’s records, along with records relating to an earlier observatory based in Parramatta, are held in our Collection and provide an intriguing resource for the history of science in Australia.
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28 Nov 1975 – the Western Sydney Records Centre opened
The NSW State Archives officially opened the Western Sydney Records Centre (Stage 1) at Kingswood on this day
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17 Dec 1915 - 'Waratah' recruitment march
On 17 December 1915 the "Waratah" recruitment march arrived in Sydney
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14 Dec 1840 - Government Printer appointed
John Kitchen was appointed as the first government printer in the newly established Government Printing Office
On This Day
1916 military riot in Sydney
On 14 February 1916 thousands of soldiers from the Liverpool military camp took strike action