The old astronomic observatory situated near the Girl Guides Hall at World’s View was the property of the KZN branch of the Astronomical Society of South Africa. It was built in the mid 1980’s through generous assistance of a member and much of the construction was done by the members themselves. The facility was the envy of many other astronomy clubs both for its relatively clear views of the sky and for its state of the art opening roof. However, many evenings viewing were lost to mist and cloudy skies!
Two telescopes were housed inside. One was a classic 6” refractor which was donated from a professional observatory while the other was a 12” reflector. The latter was built by club members with the main tube being made of a sheet of Masonite which was soaked in a swimming pool so that it could be rolled.
The refractor design is the commonly imagined one in which the viewer looks straight through the tube. The reflector design had two mirrors which bounced the light so that the viewer looker through an eyepiece set into the side of the tube. In each case the scope was set on a mount which enabled the viewer to track the celestial objects as they moved across the sky.
The outside of the building was decorated with murals which depicted constellations. These artworks were made of tile and mirror chips and reasonably accurately showed the stellar features.
It was originally planned to have a number of other observing instruments including a radio telescope at the site, but lack of funding prevented their construction. The club slowly dwindled as members left and new members became few and far between. Eventually in 2011 the society closed down and its assets were passed on to the Durban society.
Thanks to Jake Alletson for the discription.
Please note that this cache is within the Worlds View Conservancy and as such no plants should be removed.