The 9th of April 1900 saw the Opening of the Perth Observatory in West Perth.
The building was situated in a reserve of 12 acres on the top of Mount Eliza with frontages to Havelock and Malcolm Streets and Harvest Terrace. It was directly opposite the entrance to Kings Park.
As early as 1892, John Forrest had tried to include money in the government budget for the building of an observatory. However, it was thought to be a waste of money by some of the other members of parliament and therefore a luxury not needed in the Colony. With finances improving during the latter part of the 1890's, money was then put aside for the building and some of the instruments needed. This observatory was to be used for both purposes of astronomy and meteorology.
The Government architect, George Temple-Poole drafted the plans for the Observatory and a Mr Frogley was the builder. The first government astronomer of the Colony of Western Australia, Ernest Cooke, was appointed by the Premier, John Forrest in 1896.
A new observatory in Bickley replaced the Mount Eliza observatory in the mid 1960's.
