UTAS COSMIC RAY OBSERVATORY
A cosmic ray observatory was established at the Springs in 1956. At the time this was the highest point on the mountain with good road access and electrical power. The Observatory formed a crucial link in a network of observatories stretching from PNG to Antarctica.
Physicist McCracken writes: "This was what I did for my PhD in Tasmania: cosmic ray research. I was extremely fortunate in that the University of Tasmania is one of the leading laboratories in the world in the study of these sub-atomic strangers that wander into the solar system from outer space. I built lots of equipment. I installed some of it in New Guinea, some went to Antarctica, and I had my own cosmic ray laboratory half way up Mt. Wellington."
It was rebuilt after the 1967 fires but decomissioned in 2001.
“ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON. -On Tuesday evening, some time after the sun, owing to the intervention of Mount Wellington, had apparently set, a beautiful rainbow threw its arch over the heavens. As the sun was much below the summit of the mountain, and the rainbow appeared to extend to the eastern horizon, the refraction, on which this phenomenon depends, must, from some cause, have bean greater than ordinary. The lurid appearance of the atmosphere, which accompanied it added considerably to the effect.”
“AURORA AUSTRALIS OVER THE MOUNTAIN. A show terminated by an expanding beam of intense crimson, which rose high towards the left of Mount Wellington.”
“GREAT COMET The comet has been on view throughout the week in the early evening hours. In Hobart, it is seen over the crest of Mount Wellington, just beyond the organ pipes, and is gradually decreasing in brilliants and clearness.”
In June 2024, DarkSky International accepted the
Trust’s pre-application and qualified Wellington Park for consideration as a Dark Sky Park pending development of a full submission. Certification of Wellington Park as a Dark Sky Park is consistent with the emerging Palawa value of sky connection afforded by kunanyi / Mount Wellington. Dark sky values were also a common theme in recent Park Value Statement consultation undertaken for the review of the Wellington Park Management Plan. (from WPMT Annual Report 2024)
HERITAGE ASSESSMENT
In 2018 the Park’s Trust made the observatory (WPHH0417) a priority place for nomination to the Tasmanian Heritage Register.
The Trust has also sought recognition for the Park as a Dark Sky reserve.