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Papers regarding payments for work done on behalf of the Board.

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Reduced by Dawes.

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Reduced by William Wales.

Scope and Contents Minutes of Board of Longitude meetings regarding, among other matters, the rates of various chronometers; Charles Hutton's tables of products, powers and roots of natural numbers; the voyages of HMS 'Resolution' and HMS 'Discovery' and the examination of their log books; John Arnold's improvements to his watches; a suitable site for the Board of Longitude's instruments after the burning of the cupola of the Greenwich Hospital where they had been kept; improvements to reflecting telescopes;...

Scope and Contents From the File:

A diary of work performed on the 'Nautical Almanac' and arrangements for its compilation and publication.

Scope and Contents Outgoing correspondence regarding many astronomical and nautical subjects, including accounts with printers, the production of the 'Nautical Almanac', expeditions to Australia, a reward for a method of making glass of a sufficient quality for instruments, the trial of various timepieces and their employment on board Royal Navy vessels, replies to projectors proposing various methods of finding longitude at sea, and instructions for astronomers (including William Gooch on board the Daedalus...

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Concerning whether his son Lieutenant William Dawes should return to England with the marine corps or remain at Sydney to continue his work at the observatory.

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Concerning his son's circumstances in New South Wales and the possibility of a salary for his work as Engineer and Officer of Artillery.

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Concerning a petition to compensate his son William Dawes for the work he had done as Engineer and Officer of Artillery in New South Wales, and a petition for leave of absence for him.

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Concerning his petitions on behalf of his son, William Dawes, in New South Wales.

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Thanking him for his assistance regarding his son, William Dawes and assuring him that the books and instruments would be brought back from Sydney on HMS Gorgon, which had just departed from Spithead with supplies. Dawes also discusses the shortage of food and clothing at the settlement, and recounts William's list of rations at the settlement, noting how they were cut after the loss of the Sirius.

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Concerning astronomical observations.

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Reporting on their progress (the ship had arrived at Rio de Janeiro) and on observations made en route. Dawes also mentions that his cabin was partially under water and that his Requisite Tables had been damaged and needed replacing.

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Reporting on observations made at the Island of Enxadas, Rio de Janeiro. The letter includes mention of a visit by two astronomers from Portugal employed to settle the limits between the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in Brazil.

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Reporting on observations made in Rio de Janeiro and on meeting Colonel Gordon, Commandant of the troops at Cape Town and a keen astronomer. Dawes reports that he had arranged with Gordon for observations to be made at Cape Town of the comet which was expected the following year; he also lists Gordon's instruments and books to show his ability for the task.

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Written from the new settlement at New South Wales. Dawes reports on his work there, mentioning the lack of resources and the clearing of land for an observatory. He includes a rough sketch of the observatory.

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Reporting on his activities between leaving the Cape of Good Hope and his arrival at Sydney. The letter also includes an account of constructing the observatory in Sydney, and of the practical difficulties involved, particularly in finding suitable materials and craftsmen. He mentions, for example, that the forty marines employed in the work had to be provided with rum, water and new shoes (due to the damage from brushwood). Dawes also seeks further money and provisions.

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Reporting on the status of the observatory (which was nearly complete), on expenses incurred, and on his role there.

Scope and Contents Reporting on his activities at the observatory in Sydney, mentioning that much of his time had been employed 'in matters quite foreign to astronomy', and that while he had estimated the track of the comet, he had yet to see it. Dawes also reports that he intended to stay in New South Wales for a further three years, on the basis that he could not leave until a suitable person was sent out to take over: 'I think it would be a great pity to lose an established observatory in this Hemisphere'...

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Informing Maskelyne that he had a sent a letter via the Fishburn under Captain [Robert] Brown.

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Reporting on his work at the observatory in Sydney. Dawes reports that he had seen nothing of the comet and complains that his duties as Engineer and Officer of Artillery were preventing him from attending to the observatory, which had soured his relationship with the Governor. He asks that a suitable person be sent out to take over the Observatory before his six years there had expired. He also reports the naming of Maskelyne Point.

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Reporting on his work at the observatory in Sydney. He refers to the loss of HMS Sirius and states that the timekeeper [K1] was moved to HMS Supply undamaged. The letter also includes a description of his observatory.

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Reporting on his work at the observatory at Sydney, and describing the main hindrances to his work (including the lack of 'men of business' in the country, the 'unfortunate want of abilities' of the surveyor of lands, and his problems with the Governor). The letter also includes a description of the local topography of Sydney and his opinion of the country - 'a more dreary, dismal, barren, inanimated [sic] country I believe does not exist anywhere in the whole world'.

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Written on board HMS Gorgon on Dawes' return passage to England and concerning the safe return of instruments from the observatory at Sydney.

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Concerning a letter from Lord Howe about his appointment to Botany Bay, and his objections to being placed in the marine detachment of HMS Sirius rather than in the land service.