Australian magnetic observatories

Abstract

The first magnetic observatory to operate in Australia was the Rossbank Magnetic Observatory at Hobart. The observatory was established by the Royal Society of London in 1840 during an expedition led by Captains Clark Ross and Francis Crozier, commanders of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror (McGregor et al., 1985). This was only eight years after the first such observatory was established in Gottingen by C.F. Gauss. The director of the Rossbank observatory was Lieutenant Kay. Regular magnetic observations continued at the observatory until the end of 1854.