1945 Melbourne
Observatory stops research
operations.
1948 Winsome Bellamy starts
at Sydney Observatory as a
‘computer’ and continues to
its completion.1948 Sydney Observatory takes
over the Melbourne zone of the
Catalogue.1947
WOOMERA RANGE OPENS
measurers. In Australia in the early 20th century,
women were generally paid 54-64% of a male salary
when the work was specifically identified as “women’s
work”. This made women attractive as a cheap source
of labour.
In 1902, an anonymous journalist writing
about the Melbourne Observatory women in “The
Women’s Corner” section of theBrisbane Courier
said: “Their hours are from 9am to 5pm on weekdays
and to noon on Saturdays, an hour being allowed for
lunch. Their salary is £40 a year. (The editor has only
one remark... no man would undertake it at more
than double the amount).”
Charlotte Emily Fforde Peel (1877-1974) was
selected as an “astrographic computer” in 1898
due to her outstanding mathematical ability –
demonstrated in the exam set by the observatory. She
had been a teacher and
was transferred from the
Education Department
at the age of 21 as the
most promising of the
first six women to work
on AC star measurement.
The women were
trained for six months or
longer and Peel became
their leader, checking
the accuracy of their
measurements, timing
each woman’s efficiency
against it and calibratingthe measuring machines. It was
estimated that 80 stars per hour
could be measured using the high-
cost, finely tooled machines made by
Repsold, from Hamburg, Germany,
and pace as well as accuracy was
essential.
Peel was performing the same duties as Dorothea
Klumpke, the first woman with an advanced
degree in astronomy, who was the Director of Paris
Observatory’s Bureau des Measures from 1890.
Melbourne Observatory, which had been a male-
dominated building, had to become more feminised.
The women’s spaces were separated from the men’s;
there was a fear that the men would be distracted.
Isolation had its benefits, and the women often
formed strong friendships with their measuring
partners and socialised after work. Logistics, such
as a lack of outhouses (toilets) had to be solved. New
conveniences were built in 1903 – but not connected
until years later. This understandably caused angst.
Peel was officially gazetted as “assistant
astronomical computer” in 1900. She was the first
woman to hold a permanent position in astronomy
in Australia. She worked on the AC for 20 years and
only left when she married Robert Sangster, the
observatory librarian, in 1919.WHEN PERTH OBSERVATORYjoined the AC program
and established its “measuring bureau”, Prudence
Valentine Williams (1891–1968) – already identified
as an outstanding student by winning a gold medal in
her leaving exam – was one of two women employed
as junior clerks in 1906. She was 16, but highly
intelligent and capable, and soon became the leader
of a growing number of employed women.
Williams was passionate about astronomy
and was elected to the Astronomical Society of
Western Australia. Her work ethic and diligenceMary Emma Greayer
(pictured below c1895 with
Adelaide Observatory staff
Charles Todd and William
Ernest Cooke) commenced
employment as a computer.
She went on to observe
reference stars – coordinates
that formed the foundation
for measuring the position of
other stars. She had to resign
in 1899 when she married.
Greayer was doing the work of an astronomer, and
was one of the first women to be elected to the SA
Astronomical Society, where she presented papers1951
FIRST HOLDEN UTE
Issue 86 COSMOS – 41ASTROGRAPHIC CATALOGUE