Video presentation by Professor Wayne Orchiston...

Some reflections on astronomy in Sydney during the 1960s was presented by Professor Wayne Orchiston at the Sydney City Skywatchers member meeting on Mon 3 August. You can watch the recording of his fascinating and insightful presentation here:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/45e85c_60d58036dd774d4a830f430370ae3bae/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Abstract: After moving from New Zealand to Sydney as a teenager in December 1958, I soon became actively involved in amateur astronomy in Sydney through the NSW Branch of the British Astronomical Association, and the North Shore Astronomical Society (a society for teenagers that I founded in 1959). After leaving secondary school I worked in radio astronomy while studying part-time for a BA Honours degree at the University of Sydney.

In this talk I will discuss the BAA NSW Branch of the 1960s, the role the North Shore Astronomical Society played in promoting teenage astronomy, Gordon Patston and the Sydney Amateur Astronomers, the development of radio astronomy at the CSIRO with the close-down of the field stations and promotion of the Parkes Radio Telescope, Sydney Observatory as a professional observatory, and the emergence of optical and radio astronomy at the University of Sydney. It was an exciting time to be involved in astronomy in Sydney!