About ASSA

The Society was established through the efforts of C.C. Farr, who believed there were enough people in South Australia interested in astronomy to form a local society. Farr was then the only South Australian member of the British Astronomical Association, and the possibility of a South Australian branch was noted at a B.A.A. meeting in February 1891.

Interested people in Adelaide included members of the Royal Society of South Australia, members of the Port Adelaide Mathematical Society, and people professionally involved in astronomy or related fields, including Government Astronomer Charles Todd. Farr circulated an invitation in December 1891 proposing a meeting at the Adelaide Observatory, with Todd taking the chair.

The first meeting was held on 22 December 1891 and adjourned to 15 February 1892. Fourteen people attended, five sent apologies, and the meeting resolved unanimously that an astronomical society be formed. The Society was accepted by the Royal Society as its Astronomical Section on 18 May 1892.

Charles Todd gave the inaugural address in June 1892, titled Two British Astronomers, Their Lives and Labours. Monthly notes also began in July 1892 and, in one form or another, continued through to the modern Bulletin. Early membership was modest, finances were limited, and Sells initiated the Society's first observing program, a nova search.

By 1901 dissatisfaction with the Royal Society relationship had escalated. The Society expected publication support and a fair share of grant funding, but considered both inadequate. A special meeting voted to disaffiliate, and the Royal Society's annual report recorded the matter in six words: The Astronomical Section no longer exists.

After separating from the Royal Society, the Society affiliated with the Public Library, again largely because of the government grant. This arrangement proved satisfactory for more than 50 years, providing grant support and meeting-room access at the North Terrace Institute.

Membership remained small, generally around 40 to 60 nominal members, with the active paid-up number often lower. Records from this period show a Society sustained by a relatively small group of active members, but still maintaining meetings, papers and astronomical discussion.

Talks given to the Society provide a useful record of astronomy as it was understood at the time. Subjects included gravity, planetary rotation, life on other worlds, transmutation, lunar and Martian features, wireless demonstrations, meteor showers and occasional controversial theories.

Important early members included Charles Todd, Professor Chapman, Mr Hiscock, Mr Dodwell, Professor Kerr Grant and Mr Shinkfield. The Society also recorded major astronomical and related events, including the 1902 earthquake, the 1909 auroral display, Halley's comet, eclipses and the 1924 opposition of Mars.

The Society ceased operation during the early years of World War II, probably following Professor Chapman's death in January 1942 and the pressures of wartime. It was re-established by former members in 1948.

The revived Society had limited funds, but public field nights using members' portable telescopes became highly successful. Field nights in 1957, 1958 and 1959 drew very large public crowds, with the January 1959 event estimated at about 2,000 visitors.

Interest in astronomy grew during the International Geophysical Year and the early space age. Mr A. Clarke proposed Society involvement in the Moonwatch program, which tracked artificial satellites. The group soon became largely independent of the Society and later faded as tracking technology advanced.

The Society pursued a permanent observing facility after the demolition of the Adelaide Observatory. After negotiations with the Education Department, a room and observatory site were provided at Norwood Boys Technical High School, later Marryatville High School. The Marryatville observatory, with a 300 mm Dall-Kirkham telescope, was officially opened on 15 February 1964.

As light pollution and local conditions reduced Marryatville's usefulness, land donated by Ian Bedford enabled the construction of Stockport Observatory with a 500 mm telescope. Stockport opened on 8 March 1986. The Heights Observatory at Modbury Heights opened in October 1989, with the former Marryatville 12-inch Dall-Kirkham reflector relocated there on loan from ASSA. The Heights later acquired a Meade 14-inch ACF GPS in 2011 and replaced the ageing 12-inch instrument in 2012.

The International Geophysical Year encouraged practical observing activity, including an auroral group reporting to the Auroral Data Centre. Other sections developed over time, including variable star, grazing occultation, telescope-making and computing interests. As membership increased and facilities became available, some groups became permanent parts of Society activity.

Elementary astronomy classes began in 1964 and later became public lectures. These were aimed at non-members and new members, and many attendees went on to join the Society.

Post-war meetings gradually changed in format. The Society moved from the Royal Society's rooms to the University of Adelaide Physics lecture room in the mid-1950s, and later to the Levels Campus. By 1968, meetings had been adjusted to reduce routine business, add an interval, and include films, short talks and sky information.

The Society also developed a stronger interest in preserving records. Rev. Father Bustelli was made Archivist in 1962, and Society history was the subject of a 1967 meeting marking the 75th anniversary of the first formal meeting. Two Adelaide NACAA meetings were especially notable: 1974 and the 1992 centenary convention.

Membership grew from 101 at the end of 1955 to about 450 after a century of operation, with meeting attendance averaging around 70. Fees increased over time as Bulletin production, postage and general operating costs rose.

Some of the Society's most important contributors have been recognised as Honorary Life Members. They include Mr Hiscock for long service as secretary before World War II; Mr M. Costelloe for his role in reviving the Society after the war; Mr R.L. Sangster for publicity, observing, telescope-making and Bulletin contributions; Mr A. Clarke for public relations, Moonwatch and the Marryatville observatory; and Bill Bradfield for his outstanding visual comet discoveries.

The Bulletin grew from the circulars of the early post-war years and became the Society's monthly publication in 1950. It developed into a record of meetings, reports, section activity and items of interest to members. Early editors carried a heavy workload, often editing, producing and writing much of the publication themselves before modern word-processing tools were available.

ASSA remains an active amateur astronomy society with regular general meetings, specialised groups, observing facilities and public outreach. It operates suburban and dark-sky observing facilities, supports members across a range of astronomical interests, and continues to publish the monthly Bulletin.