accompanying astronomer, two artists and two naturalists were to observe and document the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun. Observation and documentation of the transit was to provide an accurate measurement of the distance between the earth and the sun. The southern ocean in 1769 was known to be the best place to take such a measurement. On his return journey, Cook "discovered" the east coast of Australia which he mapped on this journey home. In 1788 the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay and then moved on to settle on the shores of Sydney Cove. With the fleet was a young Lieutenant William Dawes, who had had a deep interest in astronomy. Dawes was charged with the task of setting up the first observatory in the colony and carried all the requisite equipment to do this on the long voyage to the colony. He was to observe the predicted return of Haley's comet in 1789. Dawes pitched his "tent-observatory" on a rocky, heavily wooded ridge on the west side of Sydney Cove, a kilometre away from the first settlement. The area was later named Dawes Point. A plaque placed on the south pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge commemorates Dawes observatory. Despite his attention to the night skies, Dawes did not observe the comet. In late 1821 Governor Brisbane ordered the establishment of an observatory at Parramatta from where he, with the help of two assistants, began the process of mapping the southern skies. Brisbane equipped the observatory with the finest instruments available at the time and installed a scientific library in the building. This facility was operational up until 1847 and the published findings from this observatory marked Australia's first significant contribution to international astronomy. The site of this observatory is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register. In 1858 under the supervision of the Colonial Astronomer of NSW, Rev. William Scot, the construction of the Sydney Observatory at the Rocks was commenced, It was completed in 1859 although the first observations were recorded in 1858. The observatory included a central time-ball tower, a dome to accommodate an equatorial telescope and a transit room for meridian instruments. This was the first government funded observatory established in Australia with others established in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by the close of the 19th century. Like the Parramatta observatory site the Sydney Observatory is listed on the NSW State Heritage