Keith Lightfoot Blogosphere

Our rental car headlights created a small pencil shaped opening in the darkness as we groped our way down Hill End Road scanning every possible driveway, crossroads and gaps in the bush line for some direction.

When we eventually stumbled across the small sign to Old Grattai Road it seemed unlikely that an observatory could be close by, there were no lights in the distance, no sounds, no elaborate entrance and no one to greet us when we arrived.

Having found a spot on the grass to park the car, we walked very carefully up a pathway dimly illuminated by small solar lamps following the faint sound of voices somewhere above us.

Arriving at the top of the hill was quite a surprise. John Vetter was pointing a handheld laser device into the night sky and explaining the various star clusters to a small group of people.

There was no formality, no fanfare, no tickets, just a warm friendly welcome from John and an automatic feeling of inclusion into the group.

Mudgee is a perfect place to have an observatory, a beautiful town filled with very friendly people and a remote bush line just outside the main centre, it just seemed unlikely to us that an individual, rather than a corporation or institution, had actually taken the trouble to build one.

The evening passed quickly, we peeked at the moon, listened to John quietly educating his “flock for the night”, we marvelled at a perfect halo around the moon, observed a solar cluster, took at look at the rings of Saturn, watched a DVD that explained how the rings were formed and then were free to look around John’s observatory at our own leisure.

Before leaving I thought it might be appropriate to ask about the entrance fee, assuming there was one; John told us it was $10 each which we willingly and immediately paid.

Our journey back through the darkened foliage of Australia seemed somehow easier and was made even more memorable by the sudden appearance of Kangaroos leaping across the gravel road through our headlights.

The next morning I woke with a strong urge to re visit the observatory during the day, to meet the man behind the vision, to understand more of his dream and to gain some insights into his passion for the stars.

John and I met at his house below the observatory, my car park and the pathway looked nothing like it had the night before and John’s observatory was even more overwhelming in the daylight.

We did not discuss the huge personal financial commitment required to create this structure, or dwell on the thousands of man hours that must have gone into providing this facility for people.

Instead we talked openly about his reasons for building the observatory, his background, his family, his childhood memories of gazing at the stars whilst fishing with his father and his desire to show people the wonders of the night sky.

John was born in Goondiwindi, moved to Sydney and spent thirty five years serving the public as a qualified mechanic for the NRMA, in 1992 John bought the property on a secluded hilltop just outside of Mudgee with the observatory in mind.

First he built a beautiful home for himself and his wife Patricia; then set about laying the foundations for the buildings, the telescopes and the access ways.

When you walk amongst the facilities you realise the power of a dream! John has carved out his own little piece of paradise, somewhere deep in the back country of central New South Wales, to live in peace, to observe the stars his loves so much and to offer his wisdom and equipment to anyone who has always wanted to “take a look”.

John admits freely that the Mudgee Observatory it is not a profitable venture and that he is uncomfortable talking with large groups, but he presses on regardless, offering his observatory to tourists and locals via the Mudgee information centre, on the internet and via word of mouth.

Visiting the Mudgee Observatory is not an exciting experience, it is not even a extraordinary experience, but it is a humbling experience; firstly that one man would persist with a dream so huge for so long, despite all the setbacks and investment requirements; and secondly that we were able to see God’s creation first hand through John’s telescopes, that we were able to stand in silence and experience the sheer power of absolute darkness that can only be achieved in such a remote location.