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Jubilee celebrations 1902

Garden party at the Observatory, 3 October 1902

A garden party was held in the afternoon of 3 October 1902 at the Observatory. Mr and Mrs Henry Chamberlain Russell were "at home" at the Observatory in the afternoon.

Invitations had been issued to about five hundred ladies and gentlemen, including the visiting delegates, the members of the University governing body and teaching staff, a large number of graduates and undergraduates, and many private friends of the host and hostess.

The pleasantly-situated and well-shaded grounds of the Observatory offered special attractions to the guests, for the day was sultry, and a long-looked-for cool wind from the south did not arrive until an advanced hour.

Refreshments were served on the lawn.

Henry Chamberlain Russell

Henry Chamberlain Russell was an astronomer and meteorologist, and in 1886 was the first graduate of the University of Sydney to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He was a Fellow of the Senate of the University in 1875-1907 and vice-chancellor in 1891-92.

Henry joined the Sydney Observatory; in 1862-64 he was acting director and succeeded G. R. Smalley as government astronomer on 12 July 1870, a position which he held for 35 years.

In 1903 he had a severe illness from which he never completely recovered. He resigned the position of government astronomer in 1905 and died at the Observatory in 1907.

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