Don S. Mathewson

Reflections of a Director’s Daughter

Last year marked the anniversary of the 100th year of Mt Stromlo Observatory. What a milestone! I often revisit the old house, known as Observatory House, where we lived for fourteen years. My children are competitive cross-country runners which kept Stromlo in my life. The house is now a museum. The garden mostly gone except for the old oak tree. An English oak, which we all adored and sheltered under, a witness to the last hundred years. A survivor of bushfires. A constant companion throughout my time as the daughter of the fifth director of Mt Stromlo Observatory.

I was brought to Mt Stromlo Observatory as a six month old in September 1966. My father, Don Mathewson, accepted a Fellowship at Mt. Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (MSSO) of The Australian National University. Little did he know that this was the beginning of a star dusted journey spanning thirty years. It was a journey that was enriched by all the talented people of MSSO, politicians and Prime Ministers, chancellery of the ANU, television and radio networks and international collaboration with NASA and Canada to produce STARLAB, a space telescope project.

Mt Stromlo Observatory gave my father a meteoric rise into a leadership position. Just over ten years since arriving on the mountain (1977) he became acting Director of MSSO. He held this position as Acting Director for 18 months before they appointed him director in April 1979. The headlines read “First Australian Director for Observatories”. The ANU reporter continued that “he had many firsts to his name” including the discovery of the Magellanic Stream. It was a very exciting time for Australian astronomy with generous support from Ministers of Science (including Sir Philip Lynch and Senator John Button) which enabled greater international collaboration and recognition.

Stromlo gave children the perfect playground. Our thoughts and imaginations soared high as we romped around the pine forest with the stunning back drop of the blue hue of the Brindabella ranges to the west. A discarded black plastic sheet became a wicked witch’s cloak which fluttered in the breeze. Rocky outcrops from volcanic remnants enabled us to build stone fortresses and cubby warfare was rampant with the other mountain children. The moist forest bed proliferated orange mushrooms called Saffron Milk Cap which were perfect for our caldrons. Thank goodness not the white death cap mushroom! We giggled with glee as our wee turned orange from the ingestion of these magical mushrooms.

Observatory House gave my father the perfect setting for promoting astronomy and inspiring politicians and business people to invest in astronomy, the last frontier. I remember there were numerous meetings, buffets, dinners with NASA and Canadian engineers. We had only just moved into Observatory house from another house on the mountain, when my father asked the then Minister for Science, the Honourable Philip Lynch, for dinner and a tour around the telescopes to see the latest developments. The next day, a cheque for $3 million was given to support the ongoing Mount Stromlo Observatory projects!

The dining room gave such a vibe of excitement, passion and enthusiasm for the infinite possibilities that the Universe tantalises us with. My father had many long chats in that dining room with Pip Morgan, a top Hawker de Havilland engineer, and as a result of their discussions AUSPACE, the first Australian Space Company was born. It is written that “Don was largely responsible for taking Australia into the space age,” or in the words of his colleague Professor Michael Dopita “kicking and screaming into the space age!”

I will never forget when all of Parliament came up to Stromlo to observe Halley’s Comet on the 7th April 1986. The mountain was alive with Federal Ministers from all parties bustling around like excited teenagers on a school excursion, as they were about to observe the comet remotely using telescopes at Siding Spring Observatory. Afterwards my father got into the car to go to the telescopes with the Prime Minister Bob Hawke and to make room for him, Hazel sat on Bob's knee. She drily remarked, ‘It takes a comet to get me on Bob's knee!’ A photo captured this moment in time and turned up in The Canberra Times the next day!

As I walk away from the old house, I can hear laughter and the clonk-clonk of croquet balls as many walks of life battle it out on the large green croquet lawn in front of the house. Friends, family, engineers, accountants, university Chancellors, ambassadors, heads of CSIRO departments, politicians all united under the stately presence of Observatory House and the watchful eye of the old oak tree. 

 By Tania Mathewson