| Description | Communication from Prof. John Davis, 27 January 2007:
Photograph 1: 'Hanbury on one of the reflectors. Here the mirrors have had their coatings removed - the missing ones have gone back to Italy for recoating.'
Photograph 2: 'The person with Hanbury is the late Professor Ed Ney from the University of Minnesota who spent a sabbatical year with us.'
Photograph 3: 'The man on the left of Hanbury is Professor Ed Ney again (see Photograph 2).'
Photograph 4: 'On the left is Mr. Tony Smith from the Sheffield firm Dunford and Elliot who were responsible for the entire control system of the instrument. Tony was with us for a long time - I am not sure just how long but it was more than 2 years - installing and commissioning the control system. On the right is the late Mr. Graham Gifford who lived in Narrabri and was our caretaker for the life of the instrument. As a piece of trivia it turned out that he went to the same school as me in Essex although a bit before me!'
Photograph 5: 'The man with Hanbury is Lord De L'Isle, Governor General of Australia (1961-65). The occasion was a visit by the Governor General to the Intensity Interferometer at Narrabri [in March 1964].'
Photograph 6: 'This was the same occasion with Lord De L'Isle being welcomed to the Intensity Interferometer. The man introducing the Governor General to the line of people is the late Mr Stan Chatterton who made a major donation to the School and after whom the Chatterton Astronomy Department that Hanbury and I headed was named. I think the donation was £200,000 in ~1960. Unfortunately, since I retired, the named Departments in the School, of which there were five, have been abolished. The people in the line-up from the left are: Professor Harry Messel, Head of the School of Physics at the time, Hanbury, Mr. Peter Miller (hidden by the Governor General but the owner of the property on which the interferometer was built), Betty Miller (Peter's wife), myself, Dr Roy Allen, Mr Michael Yerbury (a Ph.D. student, now Dr Yerbury). Regarding the mirrors - they certainly look as if they may still have the protective coating on them but I really can't remember and the reflection can be very confusing depending on how far away from the mirrors you are.'
Photograph 7: 'This was unrealistic but made for a good picture! The people in the picture are Peter Miller, the property owner on the left with his horse, and our caretaker Graham Gifford on the right. As you can see, if the reflector was moved, they would be in the way of the catenary cable. This [photograph] is unrealistic as they are boiling a billy - with a proper kitchen 50 metres away - in a position that would stop the reflector being moved. [This photographer] liked the idea of capturing the outback feeling for the picture!'
Photograph 8: 'I think it is Hanbury standing on the reflector and I am fairly sure that the face reflected is that of Graham Gifford with more hair and a beard that he didn't have in earlier pictures.' |