Friday 17 March 2017

ROYAL PARK - THE AB BIGGS OBSERVATORY MEMORIAL PILLAR

AB BIGGS OBSERVATORY PLAQUE
At first glance, this memorial to AB Biggs appears a little underwhelming. It should however, be remembered that it was erected in the depths of the depression, and non-commercial societies are rarely flush with funds at the best of time .

It would make great addition to a history-themed scavenger hunt (collecting photos of course, not the actual objects), as its existance is not widely known. I am ashamed to say I must have walked past it countless times without really noticing its significance. (In my defence I did have a very badly behaved dog in tow but still.....) I'll give you a clue – its quite near to the croquet club. (Yes, Launceston does have one, in fact more than one, but that's a story for another post). However lest I complete this entire post with bracketed afterthoughts I'll get to it and add this extract from The Examiner of the 19th September 1935:

"Many years ago, long before this park was thrown open to the public, on the place where we now are there stood a little octagonal building," said Mr. Meston. (Meston was president of the Northern Branch of the Royal Society, the Governor, who was the state president was prevented from attending due to ill-health)."So insignificant was it that to many it seemed but a kind of shed. This was the observatory of Mr. A. B. Biggs, F.R.S. Here and in the little building adjacent, a transit house presented to him by the American Astronomical Expedition which visited Tasmania in 1874, he carried out his observations. The scope and accuracy of his work soon brought him international repute, and his name was widely known in astronomical circles throughout the world. Many of his observations were published in the "Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania," to which from 1884 onwards he was a frequent contributor. One of his labours was to calculate the latitude and the longitude of Launceston. This he did with the care and exactitude which is characteristic of all his work. At his death in 1900 the observatory and transit house were demolished, and nothing was left to mark the sites. If the official latitude and longitude of Launceston are to have any value or meaning, it is essential to know the exact position where the calculations were made. The erection of this memorial pillar, therefore, has a very definite scientific value, for it marks the site of the observatory.”

The “AB” in the Biggs stands for Alfred Barrett. Quite apart from his work as an amateur astronomer(its hard to imagine any paid positions being available in Launceston at the time), Biggs was a teacher, bank officer, member of the Royal Society, actively involved in the Mechanics Institute and the choir master at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church. One could easily add “among other things” for Biggs seems to have had a varied and very productive life and displayed an interest in many aspects of science including seismology and telephony. There are many online referencesto AB Biggs, if you'd like to know more about him, and there is also an interesting  book by Margaret Giordano called Watcher of the Night Skies  which is a very well-written and interesting account of his life