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John Brittain was born in Wales and migrated to Australia
at the age of ten. He became a lecturer in astronomy and surveying at the
Ballarat
School
of Mines. When
the Ballarat Observatory was on the brink of extinction, Brittain breathed
new life into it and virtually rebuilt it during the period 1914-15, at
which time the unique set of stained glass windows were installed. Several
of these were donated by organisations in which Brittain was a very active
member, namely the Welsh Cambrian Society of Sebastopol, The Orion Masonic
Lodge and the Methodist Church, in which he was a Local Preacher for many
years. Others were donated by friends with a great interest in astronomy.
He was Superintendent at the Observatory for 30
years, and contributed a monthly column, ?Astronomy Notes? to the Ballarat
Courier for forty years.
His legacy to the people of Ballarat is the set
of fine, historic buildings and the historic
telescopes which, without his intervention, would have been lost to Ballarat.
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