The Dominion Observatory is a historic

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

in the

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. It was the second observatory in Wellington. It was built in 1907 and originally named the Hector Observatory after

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employed ...

until 1925. It was built to replace the

Colonial Observatory The Colonial Time Service Observatory was an observatory situated on the edge of the Bolton Street Cemetery in Wellington, New Zealand. It was built in 1869 to replace the Provincial Observatory, the line of sight of the Provincial Observatory had ...

which was located in the Bolton Street Cemetery. The observatory was primarily used to maintain New Zealand Mean Time for the Time Service based on astronomical observations. It was designed by architect John Campbell in the Edwardian Baroque style. The observatory was vacant in 1993, and in 2003 it was refurbished by the Department of Conservation to be used by private businesses. It is listed by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

as a Category 1 Historic Place.

References

External links

Dominion Observatory – Department of Conservation
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Wellington City Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region 1900s architecture in New Zealand Astronomical observatories in New Zealand John Campbell (architect) buildings