Official Opening

The official "Second Light" opening of the Gifford Observatory will occur on Monday 25th March at about 12.30pm. This is a very special event and our honoured guest is Dr Sir William Pickering, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the pioneering days of spaceflight who, as an Old Boy of Wellington College, fondly remembers using the original observatory.

It is with great pleasure that the Gifford Observatory Charitable Trust, set up to restore the Observatory for active use, particularly by young astronomers in the Wellington region, announces that the Observatory is operational! We are thrilled that one of Wellington College's most illustrious old boys, New Zealand's most eminent engineer and an enthusiastic user of the Observatory in its early years, Dr Sir William Pickering, is flying out from Los Angeles to formally re-open the Gifford Memorial Observatory in March, 2002.

Gala Dinner

To celebrate the re-opening of the Gifford Observatory we invite you to attend a gala dinner with Dr Sir William Pickering hosted by Their Excellencies The Governor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, and Mr Peter Cartwright at Government House, Wellington on Wednesday 20 March at 7.00 pm. Described enthusiastically by one author as being "New Zealand's greatest gift to America may we some day repay it", Sir William was a key development of the rocketry required for spaceflight and figure in the as Director of JPL in Los Angeles, led a team of scientists and engineers responsible for the outstanding success of unmanned space missions such as the Voyagers. "Uncle Charlie" Gifford was one of Sir William's most inspiring teachers. The Observatory he founded, housing the 130mm Zeiss refractor, was a source of pleasure and challenge to many student astronomers besides Sir William.

Tickets are very limited, so preference will be given to 'Friends of the Gifford' should that be necessary. All proceeds will go directly towards further improvements of the telescope and facilities at the observatory. We do hope you will join us at Government House for this once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the re-opening of a cherished and memorable scientific facility and to meet and listen to the most honoured aerospace engineers it inspired. In the meantime, do look at our website and that of the Wellington Astronomical Society to join us at a star party!

COST: $100 each

DRESS: Black Tie

DATE: 20 March, 2002