Robert L. J. Ellery

Ellery developed an early interest in practical astronomy and meteorology and sought relaxation from his medical studies in those branches of science, occasionally working as an amateur at England's principal observatories.

In 1853 the Victorian government invited him to establish and manage an observatory at Gellibrand's Point (now Williamstown), Victoria, appointing him as Superintendent for the purposes of commercial astronomy.

[4] The Victorian government observatory was at first on a very modest scale, being housed in a small two-roomed cottage at Williamstown, and the only instruments were a sextant, an artificial horizon and a marine chronometer.

[6] At the beginning of 1858 the government founded a magnetic observatory on Flagstaff Hill, West Melbourne, under a distinguished German scientist, Georg von Neumayer, who had applied for a site in the Domain south of the Yarra without success.

Edward John White, an able astronomer, was added to Ellery's staff in May 1860, and several valuable catalogues of stars were prepared and published.

Melbourne Observatory played a crucial role in the 1862 determination of the distance from the earth of the sun, which involved close cooperation between Ellery and E. J.

In March 1871 he reported to the Royal Society of Victoria that since Le Sueur's polishing of the Great Melbourne Telescope the chief limitation to observation was the atmosphere, not the instrument.

[8] At the end of 1890, another telescope arrived and Ellery began a new important piece of work, the preparation of the share allotted to Melbourne of the astrographic chart.

In 1900, Ellery was elected president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science; he chose as the subject of his address "A Brief History of the Beginnings and Growth of Astronomy in Australasia".