“The telescope ….a conduit to the cosmos”
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Late 19th century German immigrants have had an enormous influence on our State. Think of winemaking in the Barossa and agriculture in the Adelaide hills. Observatory House is a distinctive building easily overlooked in Flinders Street, CBD. Otto Boettinger came to SA in 1877, setting up a significant scientific instrument manufacturing business on this site. That enterprise, eventually run by GCW Kohler, commissioned this unique piece of architecture in 1906. The tower was used to demonstrate to customers the quality of their binoculars and telescopes. Around this time Adelaide had a reputation rivaling Europe for the production of precision scientific instruments. Many were used in the pioneering work being undertaken by the then world leading University of Adelaide Department of Physics. #urbansketchersadelaide #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 
Shame we weren’t large enough population (and our remoteness from other countries) to foster and stimulate further research and manufacturing to continue that reputation
Now most “things” are made in China
and we’ve lost any chance
That building now has lawyers in it
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