The newly restored Townsend Teece Telescope was installed in the Observatory Tower in the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora in 2023 (Credit: Orlon Petterson)
The Townsend Telescope, donated to Canterbury College by Mr James Townsend in 1891, is an historic 6-inch refractor telescope constructed in 1864 by the renowned English telescope-making firm Thomas Cooke and Sons of York. Since its installation in the Observatory Tower in 1896, the telescope has been maintained and operated for public viewing by what is now the University of Canterbury’s School of Physical and Chemical Sciences as part of its commitment to science outreach in the community.
The Observatory Tower was damaged in the 4 September 2010 earthquake and collapsed in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The telescope was badly damaged in the earthquake and aftermath, but, miraculously, the heart of the telescope – the fragile glass lens – was found entirely intact, and so it was decided that telescope could be restored.
A University of Canterbury fundraising campaign for the restoration of the telescope received donations from many sources: Christchurch locals, astronomical societies, amateur and professional astronomers and others, including a generous donation by UC Alumnus Prof David Teece, his wife Leigh and their family. The restoration of this historic telescope was started in 2016 by retired UC mechanical technician Graeme Kershaw and finished in 2022 by Quentin Rowe.
The telescope has been renamed the Townsend Teece Telescope, and the restored telescope has been returned to a replica Observatory Tower in its heritage central city home in the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora. This will enable the people of Christchurch, and visitors, to enjoy stargazing through this beautiful and historic telescope once again.
Mr James Townsend and his telescope
James Townsend was an early colonist who had arrived in Christchurch with his relatives on the ship Cressy. At various times he was a sheep farmer, Clerk of the Magistrate’s Court and a Clerk in the Customs Office in Lyttelton. He subsequently moved to Christchurch to a house he had built on Park Terrace. He was a keen amateur astronomer and his residence had an observatory with a dome-shaped revolving roof and shutter system to house his telescope, a 6-inch Cooke refractor.
It is not known exactly when he acquired the telescope or if it was directly from Thomas Cooke. However, the polar axis of the telescope is correct for the latitude of Canterbury. It is recorded that James Townsend, together with Walter Kitson, used the 6-inch Cooke refractor and a smaller 3.375-inch Dallmeyer equatorial telescope, to observe the transit of the Sun by Venus at James Townsend’s residence on Park Terrace, Christchurch on 6 December 1882.
When he was in his seventies, James Townsend decided to donate his prize possession to Canterbury College. The Star newspaper from 12 February 1891 describes it as “a munificent gift” and “a splendidly constructed equatorial telescope, with all the many and costly optical fitting connected therewith”. Townsend gifted the telescope and equipment on the proviso that “sufficient provision was made to maintain and utilise them”.
The Townsend telescope was crafted in 1864 by Cooke and Sons of York. Thomas Cooke (1807-1868) was a famous telescope maker during the later 19th century in England and one of the leading opticians of his time. The Townsend telescope is an equatorially mounted refractor with a 6-inch achromat lens. Telescope tracking is via a mechanical weight drive and twin-ball governor for the polar axis.
There are a number of Cooke refractors of various apertures still in operation throughout the world and there are two 9-inch Cooke refractors in New Zealand: one at the Carter Observatory in Wellington and one in Wanganui.
From left: The Townsend Telescope (Credit: Dale Kershaw 2008); The completed Observatory Tower (Source: The Weekly Press, 19 March 1896).
History of the Telescope and Observatory
In 1891, when James Townsend presented Canterbury College with his Cooke refractor, the Astronomical Society of Christchurch offered to hand over their funds (about £420) on the condition that the college would erect an observatory to house the telescope. Unfortunately, Townsend did not live to see the observatory constructed as he died in 1894 at the age of seventy-nine.
In 1895 it was decided to use funds that had earlier been set aside for the establishment of a medical school to build a biological laboratory and to include a tower for the telescope. The Observatory Tower was designed by Benjamin Mountfort (1825-1898) and was completed in 1896.
Mr Walter Kitson of Sumner was appointed ‘custodian’ of the telescope at an annual honorarium of £50. Kitson had previously used Townsend’s telescope for the transit of Venus observations in 1882. Kitson was required to clean, maintain and adjust the telescope, and to attend observing evenings at the College for students or visitors in order to operate and demonstrate the use of the telescope. These open evenings were every Friday night between the hours of 7 and 10:30 pm and Kitson enlisted the help of a student to help him with these duties during term time.
In 1966, UC Physics Department technicians Wayne Smith and Graeme Kershaw restored the telescope to near new condition and continued to maintain the telescope. The telescope was essentially in its original condition, with restored brass fittings and wooden handled controls.
In June 1996, a special event to mark the centenary of the telescope’s installation at Canterbury College was held, with an attendance from many in the UC Department of Physics and Astronomy as well as by Sir Arnold Wolfendale, a recent UK Astronomer Royal.
The Observatory Tower in the Arts Centre before and after the 2011 earthquake (Credit: The Press).
The Observatory Tower collapses in the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake
As a result of the Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010, the Observatory Tower suffered significant cracking. Work was underway to stabilize and repair the tower when the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 caused the tower to collapse completely, taking the dome and telescope with it.
When access to the rubble was allowed, Arts Centre staff were able to recover the pieces of the telescope. Virtually all parts of the telescope were recovered – some parts of the tube were undamaged, whilst other were badly crushed.
Although significant damage to the telescope was obvious, when the lens cap was removed, the 6-inch achromat objective lens was, miraculously, found to be intact and undamaged.
Retrieving this key piece, the heart of the telescope, means that it was feasible to restore the telescope.
The damaged pieces of the Townsend Telescope recovered after the 2011 Earthquake (Credit: University of Canterbury).
The Restoration of the Telescope
A trust fund was set up by University of Canterbury Foundation with all proceeds going towards the restoration and maintenance of the telescope. The fundraising efforts centred on restoring this unique piece of Christchurch’s astronomical history and heritage.
Donations were received from many sources. In 2015, a generous donation by UC Alumnus Prof David Teece, his wife Leigh and their family allowed the restoration of this historic telescope to be undertaken. In honour of their support, the telescope was renamed the Townsend Teece Telescope.
University of Canterbury mechanical technician Graeme Kershaw undertook the daunting and delicate task of restoring the historic telescope as his retirement project, starting in April 2016. After Graeme’s untimely passing, Quentin Rowe was able to complete the restoration in late 2022.
The restored telescope has now been returned to a replica Observatory Tower in its heritage central city home in The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora in Christchurch.
This will enable the people of Christchurch, and visitors, to enjoy stargazing through this beautiful and historic telescope once again.
Graeme Kershaw restoring the telescope in 2017 (Credit: Duncan Shaw-Brown).
Experience stargazing from the restored Observatory Tower
View the Southern Sky through the Townsend Teece Telescope at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, under the guidance of UC astronomers.
Images of the night sky taken through the Townsend Teece Telescope: the Moon, the planet Jupiter and the “Jewel Box” star cluster (Credit: Vincent Thompson).
