One hundred and
sixteen years of looking up.
Founded in 1910 as the Otago Astronomical Society, today's Dunedin Astronomical Society is open to anyone with an interest in the night sky. We run the Beverly-Begg Observatory at Robin Hood Park, hold monthly meetings, and welcome new members at every level — from absolute beginners to seasoned observers.
Why join?
Talks from researchers, members, and visiting astronomers — first Tuesday of every month except January.
Member-only nights at Beverly-Begg, plus equipment training and use of the society's loaner scopes.
More than a century of journals, charts, and notes accumulated since 1910. We add to it every year.
Fellow stargazers across all ages and experience levels. Regular outings to dark-sky sites in Otago.
Trouble with the form? Open it in a new tab or email secretary@dunedin.astronomical.nz.
From a chemistry room
to a dome above the city.
The Society was established on Monday 27 September 1910 at a meeting in the Chemistry Room of the University of Otago, originally as the Otago Astronomical Society. By 1912, membership had grown to 254.
Around 1915 the Society operated a "Telescope House" on Tanna Hill within the University grounds. As the campus expanded the observatory needed a new home; after a Botanic Gardens site stalled during the First World War, Belleknowes was chosen in 1920 and the Beverly-Begg Observatory was completed in 1922 at Robin Hood Park, where it still stands.
The Telescope Makers' Club joined the Society in 1948. An annex was added in the 1960s for meetings, talks, and telescope construction. The Society became incorporated in 2000, secured access to a Middlemarch cottage for dark-sky observing in 2002, and registered as a New Zealand charity in 2009.
The people running the show.
Get in touch
Have a question, want to arrange a private viewing, or thinking about joining? We'd love to hear from you.