I was fifteen at the time, and spotted Halley's with my 2" Tasco refractor from my home in Sydney. I did a sketch of it too, probably my first astro sketch too. I remeber having seen a faint tail too, and only with averted vision. Man, I still remember that! I've been trying to find the sketch over the last couple of days, hoping to be able to post it too. It'll take a little longer to find alas,
. I'll post it when I do.
Thanks for the link too, Ron.