Editing Anglo-Australian Telescope (section)

== History ==
British astronomer [[Richard van der Riet Woolley]] pushed for a large optical telescope for the Southern Hemisphere in 1959.<ref name="asitm"/> In 1965, [[Macfarlane Burnet]], president of the [[Australian Academy of Science]], wrote to the federal education minister [[John Gorton]] inviting the federal government to support a joint British-Australian telescope project. Gorton was supportive, and nominated the [[Australian National University]] and [[CSIRO]] as Australia's representatives in the joint venture; he was unsuccessful in his attempts to induce [[NASA]] to join the project. Gorton brought the proposal before cabinet in April 1967, which endorsed the scheme and agreed to contribute half the capital and running costs. An agreement with the British was finalised a few weeks later and a Joint Policy Committee started work on construction planning in August 1967.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hancock |first=Ian |title=John Gorton: He Did It His Way |publisher=Hodder |year=2002 |pages=120–121}}</ref> It took until September 1969 for plans to be finalised.<ref name="fhu">{{cite book |title=Fred Hoyle's Universe |last=Gregory |first=Jane |date=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0191578460 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fredhoylesuniver0000greg/page/225 225] |url=https://archive.org/details/fredhoylesuniver0000greg |url-access=registration |access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> The agreement initially committed the specification to a telescope design based on the American [[Kitt Peak National Observatory|Kitt Peak]] telescope until its deficiencies were known. Both the [[Horseshoe mounting|horseshoe mount]] and the gearing system needed improvements.<ref name="eotss">{{cite book |last=Haynes |first=Raymond |title=Explorers of the Southern Sky: A History of Australian Astronomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoeiJxMmXZ8C |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1996 |pages=382–394 |access-date=15 April 2013 |isbn=0521365759}}</ref> Although the revised gear system was considerably more expensive it was significantly more accurate, lending itself well to future applications.<ref name="eotss" />

The mirror blank was made by [[Owens-Illinois]] in Toledo, Ohio. It was then transported to Newcastle, England, where [[Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co]] took two years to grind and polish the mirror's surface.<ref name="eotss" /> [[Mitsubishi Electric]] built the mount which was constructed by August 1973. [[First light (astronomy)|First light]] occurred on 27 April 1974. The telescope was officially opened by [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]] on 16 October 1974.<ref name="eotss" />