Joint BBQ with the ATNF Steering Committee

Joint BBQ with the ATNF Steering Committee

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Later that evening, Dr. Garrett and the members of staff, were joined for a barbecue by the visiting members of the ATNF Steering Committee, who were having their annual meeting at the observatory.

Beneath the beautifully lit dish, Dr. Ron Ekers, thanked all those present for the magnificent work they had done earlier in the day, in ensuring that the Opening Ceremony went smoothly. He remarked how, as a young PhD student, he was impressed with the beauty of the telescope, and that even now, some thirty five years later, he still considered it the most beautiful radio telescope in the world.

Dr. John Reynolds presented Dr. Garrett with a John Masterson photograph of the brightly lit Parkes Telescope. He also, presented Mrs. Garrett with a tree seedling. The tree, the Hybrid Belah (Casurina Cunninghamiana X Cristata), was discovered and described from seedlings which had naturally hybridised at the Parkes Observatory during its construction period. Originally known as Casurina Telescopiana, the fast growing tree combines the HARDINESS AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE of the Belah, with the soft dense foliage of the River Oak. Unfortunately, the original seedlings died from the ferociously hot weather we had recently, so she was given a temporary standin.






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Enquiries jsarkiss@atnf.csiro.au John Sarkissian