[UniPol]

During one of my many cleanups today I came across some of my old NSW Astronomical Society ephemeris's from years ago. I'd forgotten how informative and useful they were and aren't as glossy and colourful as todays ones. It's hard to imagine the sheer amount of work involved in producing these as the earlier ones were hand drawn and written. The following extract from an article about the society's McNiven awards is an interesting read owing to the fact that Edward (Ted) Lumley F.R.A.S. is largely responsible for its publication over many years.

Edward (Ted) Lumley

The 1st (1973) and 17th (1986) McNiven Medals were presented to Mr. Edward (Ted) Lumley, who was most worthy to receive the first medal, which was mainly awarded for his significant contributions to Astronomy. His overall assistance to the Society cannot be understated, and his service to the Society is both long and distinguished. One of his serious pursuits was variable star observations, and he passed these on to the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) for more than three decades. Mr Lumley dabbled in many aspects of astronomy, and members and the community alike have exploited his expertise, with questions relating to astronomy, astronomical devices and telescope making. He was renown for the publication of an article in Sky and Telescope about his modification of the Ronchi method for Mirror Testing, which is still used today.

For the Society, he produced the “Yearbook of Astronomy” between 1963 and 1985. Copies of this publication exceed one thousand copies for many years, and the profits made from this significantly helped reduce the cost of membership and/or contribute to Society profits. During the early years of the construction of the Bowen Mountain Observatory, the monies thus raised help push along the project. His assistance to this Society overall was just extraordinary, and it is unlikely that we will ever see such dedication from any present or future committee or ordinary member.

Ted was a Life Member from the early 1960's, and was our longest serving Committee Member for 38 years (2000). He served admirably as Observations Officer (1962-1994) and Education Officer (1995-2000).