Chris is a top bloke; I first met him at the Qld Astrofest a few years ago. He lives out west from Brissie and it soon became numbingly clear how lucky I was to have easy access to astronomy resources, be they local astronomy clubs, Forums like Ice In Space or bricks and mortar shops to access, either in person or on line.
At the time, Chris didn’t have access to any of these resources and even ‘phone calls were horrendously expensive. A group of us visited Chris’ place as part of a Qld Astrofest outing in 2008, where we enjoyed a delicious bush lunch prepared, cooked and served by Chris, his lovely wife and teenage boys.
I was very impressed with the roll off roof observatory that Chris had designed and built, replete with many examples of those fine country traditions; bush mechanical ingenuity and bush engineering! His pier is a very ornate, cast iron, Victorian era pillar of some sort, from an old railway station I think?
I was humbled by my newly gained understanding and insights into how difficult it is for country folk to get into our hobby. All the resources we take for granted are just not available to them, so good on you Chris, for persevering despite the many obstacles you had to surmount.
However, you will not get any sympathy from me regarding observing conditions; your skies are stunningly dark and I envy you that one great advantage of being remote from major population centres.
Cheers
Dennis
