This week the visitors centre turned 50 and staff and guests acknowledged the occasion with a special gathering on Monday.

CSIRO Parkes Radio Observatory Operations Scientist John Sarkissian OAM acted as MC.

“The visitors centre was officially opened on February 14, 1969,” he said.

“It’s been doing a great service for 50 years, not just to the CSIRO to help explain the work that we do here in the Parkes Telescope, but also for the local community in terms of tourism and the local economy.”

John presented a slideshow, explained why the visitors centre was constructed and commissioned, and talked about the developments and work that has been done over the years. (See full history on page 14).

Site Leader Mal Smith, Director of Telescope Operations for Australia Telescope National Facility John Reynolds and Parkes Shire Councillor Bill Jayet also addressed the guests.

“The visitors centre obviously provides an informative and hopefully an inspiring environment for people to come and see what we have here on display," Mal said.

“But the way I see the visitors centre, is that it also helps to anchor the observatory with the community.

“For me it's also the community of the staff here at the visitors centre who help to anchor the observatory staff - what we call the other side of the fence staff,” he laughed.

“It's about what the staff here at the visitors centre offer, not only to the visiting public, but also to the site as well.

“A big thank you to all here at the visitors centre for doing such a great job in terms of being the front piece for CSIRO and acting as the friendly interface and the community side of the observatory.”

John Reynolds, who is a former officer in charge of the Parkes Observatory, said it is undoubtedly an icon.

“I know that word gets thrown around a lot but it is an icon for good reason - it has been described as the most successful scientific instrument ever built in Australia," he said.

“And who can argue with that 50 years later? It’s still out there punching above its weight doing great science.

“But you can do great science and not be an icon and that’s where the visitors centre comes in. In my mind, the reason everyone knows about the Dish is the visitors centre."

John said he believes there is more than one reason the Parkes Observatory is so successful. 

"The telescope itself is this magnificent thing out in the paddock and you can get up really close to it," he said.

"We have thought in the past that maybe we shouldn’t let people so close because they bring interference - the cameras and campervans with dodgy inverters and that sort of thing.

"But it’s been a conscious decision we’ve made to manage that risk, manage that problem and allow the people to get up close to it.

"I think that's one really important reason as to why it’s been so successful. Another reason is that it's fairly conveniently located on the Newell Highway.

"But the primary reason has been the wonderful staff we’ve had at the visitors centre, the ones who pitch the science to the public year after year - to 100,000 visitors every year.

"It’s very easy to underestimate how important this is."

Cr Jayet presented flowers to Tricia Trim (Manager) and Lyn Milgate (Enterprise Officer) on behalf of Parkes Shire Council.

The history explained by John Sarkissian, OAM...

The CSIRO Parkes telescope was officially opened on 31 October 1961.

From the start there was enormous public interest in the telescope with people wanting to know about the work being conducted there by the astronomers and the see what it was like inside.

For the first few years, people could just drive up to the telescope and ask to look inside.

Eventually, the visitor numbers were so great, that in order to better manage the situation, the telescope was opened to the public for two hours every Sunday afternoon.

On these occasions, the visiting astronomers would help the local staff to shepherd people through the telescope and describe their work.

Eventually, these Sunday afternoons became increasingly tedious with equipment being stowed away and astronomers forced to interrupt their observations.

Consequently, these Sundays were replaced with Open Weekends held once every three months.

However, problems continued to occur with sometimes up to 6,000 people attending. One weekend, there was very heavy rain, and the visitors tramped mud through the tower.

Soon, this turned to dust and damaged the sensitive electrical equipment.  The old control desk had 1,000 gold-plated relay contacts that were damaged.  It took weeks to get the telescope working again.

This led to the Open Weekends being cancelled, which caused a public relations problem. The Parkes telescope had become the number one tourist destination in the region.

Eager to develop its potential further, the Parkes Chamber of Commerce and the local tourist groups lobbied the Federal Government for a tourist centre.

The Government relented and funds were made available for the construction of the Visitor's Centre.

The opening of the $50,000 Visitor’s Centre on February 14, 1969, was performed by the newly appointed Science Minister (and future Prime Minister), Malcom Fraser.

He was joined by the local federal member for Calare, John England, a party of other parliamentarians, local officials, and prominent Australian scientists.

The Director of the Observatory, John Bolton, escorted the party on a tour of the telescope, taking them for a ride on the dish and into the control room.

The Indian astronomer, Radhakrishnan, even tried explaining pulsars to the group who were then shown around the new Visitors Centre.

During the opening ceremony Mr Fraser remarked that visitors to the Parkes Observatory were motivated by a number of reasons, one of them being a pride in Australian achievement.

“The Radio Telescope represented an Australian achievement as an engineering feat, as well as for the skill of the Australian scientists,” he said. 

Sir Frederick White, Chairman of the CSIRO, praised the encouragement given by the citizens in authority in the Parkes area, which made the task very much easier than they otherwise might be.  He praised the cooperation which had been received from the local people.

Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Visitor’s Centre continued to attract visitors with new exhibits and events.   As the number of visitors increased, the need for a bigger centre became apparent.  By the late 1990’s, 50,000 people were visiting the telescope annually.

Then, in anticipation of the premier of the film, The DISH, the Visitor’s Centre was expanded and upgraded in 2000.

Sure enough, the year following the premier of the film, visitor numbers more than doubled, jumping to 120,000 per year.  This number continued to increase, peaking at 138,000 in 2003.

Consequently, the Dish Cafe was opened in 2003, giving visitors an added service and a more enjoyable experience.

Today, the visitor numbers have stabilised at around 100,000 people annually.

In addition, to learning about the work of the Observatory and the CSIRO, the Visitors Centre hosts many community groups in their activities.

Since 2002, the Central West Astronomical Society, has met regularly at the centre for its monthly meetings, held on the first Friday of every month from 7:30 PM.

In addition, other community groups have held events at the Visitors Centre.

For example, the Central West Autism Group has held events at the dish, such as last year’s Autism Awareness Month, when the dish was lit up in blue.

This event will be held again in April.

Over the past 50 years, the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's Visitor’s Centre has attracted over five million visitors to the region, contributing greatly to the local economy and promoting the region to the world.

It continues to promote the work of the world leading Parkes telescope and its scientific output and of the CSIRO’s contribution to Australia’s economy and well being, in general.