The University of Queensland

As transits of Venus occur in pairs, every 120 or 105 years, previous observations highlight the marked changes in technology, society, and Australian history.

In preparation for the 1882 transit, The Royal Society selected several key stations for observation, in locations such as Jamaica, Barbados, Bermuda, Australia, and Mauritius.

The comprehensive instructions for observers in the ‘English colonies’ emphasised the importance of standardised definitions of contacts, sufficient magnifying powers and a moderate brightness for telescopes, so that results across different countries and time zones could be combined.^[1]

Combining and comparing results were of utmost importance to the British expeditions, who hoped to use the observations to more accurately measure the distance of the sun ^[2] by the solar parallax method.

Near Brisbane, temporary observatories were erected in the grounds of Jimbour House, an impressive homestead and one of the earliest pastoral properties on the Darling Downs. This expedition included Cuthbert Peek, Charles Grover, William Morris and Leonard Darwin, a military engineer and son of Charles Darwin ^[4].

Images of this important scientific event occurring in Queensland can be found in the rich historical content of the Hume Family Collection, which contains personal correspondence, photograph albums, travel journals, and diaries.

Materials describing an even earlier observation of the Transit of Venus in the Pacific also feature in the Fryer’s collection.

In 1769, James Cook’s first voyage on the Endeavour (although most remembered for exploring Australia and New Zealand) successfully achieved its aim of observing the Transit of Venus.

In fact, Cook and astronomer Charles Green (c1734-1771) were more successful than the later Queensland efforts. While Darwin’s observations were hampered by cloudy weather, as Joseph Banks recorded in his journal:^[5]:

[T]he observation there had been attended with as much success as Mr Green and the Captn could wish, the day having been perfectly clear not so much as a cloud interveining.

The location and calculations for the Transit are also illustrated by Sydney Parkinson, who was employed as a botanical draughtsman for Banks ^[6].

The Fryer Library’s edition of his Journal was printed in 1773. It is notable for the preface’s portrayal of Joseph Banks, which reflects the legal injunctions and wrangling over publication rights that followed Parkinson’s death from dysentery in 1771.