The telescope itself has great historical significance ; at it was the largest fully steerable telescope in the world when it was built in 1869 , and it was the first telescope that large to be placed on an equatorial mounting , enabling it to track the stars accurately as they appeared to move across the sky . It was " hailed as a masterpiece of engineering " , requiring only one assistant to control its movement . Even the rival Sydney Observatory referred to it as " one of the most important artefacts in the history of Australian science . " The telescope was upgraded by adding photographic equipment in 1872 , moved to Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra in 1946 , and rebuilt with a modern mirror in the late 1950s . As recently as 1993 , it was upgraded again to take part in the world 's first observations of MACHOs . It was badly damaged in the 2003 Canberra bushfires - the temperatures were so high that the aluminium dome itself caught fire and melted onto the telescope , the Pyrex mirror shattered , and steel struts sagged
2003 Canberra bushfires
2003 Canberra bushfires
Astronomical Society of Victoria