James Barclay to sell Kingaroy Observatory

Life changed for astronomer and NASA collaborator James Barclay when he was six, and saw something streak across the night sky. In his many decades watching that sky, he has witnessed some extraordinary, inexplicable things.

Astronomer James Barclay at the Kingaroy Observatory.

Australian astronomer and NASA collaborator James Barclay has decided to sell his Kingaroy Observatory, but his passion for the night sky continues to burn brightly.

Mr Barclay, 77, has been an astronomer for more than 70 years and designed and operated Queensland’s largest self-funded astronomical observatory – the Kingaroy Observatory.

He recalls the moment that sparked his interest when he was only six.

“Living out on large acreage in western New South Wales, the skies were jet black, just full of stars,” he said.

“One night I was out there having a little wee, as little boys do, and all of a sudden this thing just shot across the sky and lit up the whole sky for a few seconds.

“I ran back inside and screamed to my mother ‘the sky’s on fire, the stars are falling’.

Kingaroy Observatory owner James Barclay.

Police probe into Kingaroy man’s death continues

“I hid under the bed that night. I didn’t know what it was but years later I found out it was a large meteor,” he said.

After that night, Mr Barclay would go out to the same spot for months, trying to see another meteor.

“I noticed over time, certain constellations, like the southern cross, weren’t in the same position as when I first saw it … I couldn’t understand why.”

5G, Covid deniers: Inside fringe group’s plan to infiltrate Qld councils

When he was about eight years old he was gifted the book, Larousse: Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and took his first astro-photo of the moon when he was 13.

For most of his life, Mr Barclay worked as a journalist. He was a press photographer and video journalist in Sydney, and wrote for the Wynnum Herald, The Sun, the Courier Mail and the South Burnett Times, however, his passion for astronomy has always taken centre stage.

Photo showing star seven sisters star cluster in the Pleiades by James Barclay of the Kingaroy Observatory.

A highlight of his career was when Halley’s comet passed across the sky in 1986.

On his birthday on September 21, 1985, Mr Barclay was the second person in Queensland to spot Halley’s comet.

He then made a plan with then Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson and others to organise a “lights-out” campaign, which took place on April 12, 1986.

“All the lights went out from Coolangatta up to Noosa so people could actually see the comet,” he said.

“Then I organised a comet viewing night at Corbould Park Racecourse, west of Caloundra.”

About 3500 people turned up to the viewing with Mr Barclay the sole astronomer on the PA system and live on radio during the event.

“Back in 2000, I got a knock on the door from NASA to establish the NASA funded Telescopes in Education where schools could access the telescopes in real time, via satellite internet which was pretty primitive as compared to what we have now."

After the TIE program came to an end in 2003, the President of the then Maidenwell eEo-Tourism Association contacted Mr Barclay telling him they had found a site for a public outreach astronomical Observatory in Maidenwell. 

"To fund this venture, my wife and I sold our home at Manly near Wynnum, drew up plans and gave up our full-time jobs at the end of 2003."

Construction began in April 2004 and the Maidenwell Astronomical Observatory opened to the public on August 16 that same year.

“It was a dream come true to have my own observatory,” Mr Barclay said.

The Kingaroy Observatory is up for sale.

Over the next decade, the observatory would become the largest self-funded Astro Tourism businesses in Queensland, hosting thousands of visitors who came to view the night skies through the telescopes.

After their lease ran out in Maidenwell, they decided to take a gamble and relocate the observatory to Kingaroy in 2015 where it has been ever since.

During his time as an astronomer, Mr Barclay witnessed incredible events, he saw ‘flashes’ of meteors striking the moon’s darken lunar surface. He has also observed some unusual phenomena.

“I have seen some unusual night sky behaviour of what I first thought was a satellite, when it’s split into three ‘stars’ each in a separate direction at extreme speed across the night skies, that freaked me out and from what I remember, many others saw the same thing. That was back in mid 1960 over the NSW central coast,” he said.

Recently, on March 9, he witnessed a “bright flash of light.”

“Like somebody switching a light on and off very quickly. It was over in less than 2 seconds.”

As for aliens, he hasn’t seen any but believes there is life out there.
“Our Milky Way galaxy has more stars than grains of sand on the beach, I do believe there is, and the search is ongoing.”

Unfortunately, due to Mrs Barclay’s health, he and his wife have decided to move on from running the observatory.

“As they say, all good things must come to an end … due to my wife’s ongoing health problems, it’s getting to the point where she’s finding it very hard to do the books.

“With her breathing difficulties and her osteoporosis, it’s not fair to her,” Mr Barclay said.

Mr Barclay said his wife of 45-years had supported his “astronomy quest” all that time.

“It’s best to get off a horse while you can than to fall off at the end,” he said.

Family night at the Kingaroy Observatory.

This isn’t the first time the couple has tried to sell the observatory. In 2020, they came very close with a deal with the Gympie Regional Council, however the stars didn’t align.

“The council were very interested in buying and relocating the observatory to a place in between Gympie and Tin Can Bay,” Mr Barclay said.

“It came that close that they were going to have an inspection … after the election.

“We were quite excited, then on March 20 (2020), they had the Queensland LGA elections and the entire Gympie council got dumped.

“That blew our chances of a sale. It was a huge let down, we could almost smell the ink on the paper,” he said.

Mr Barclay said he has written to almost every council in the Wide Bay Burnett but none were interested. He does plan to contact the new councils after the upcoming election.

Until it sells, Mr Barclay will continue to run the observatory as usual, hosting nightscape and astrophotography workshops along with their regular events.

“On June 1, Hill View Cottages Kingaroy are hosting their second annual Aussie camp oven dinner under the stars and I’ll be there in person with two large telescopes and my glow in the dark gown giving a walk around of the night sky,” he said.

The observatory will celebrate its 20th anniversary and will host its own three-course Aussie dinner under the stars on August 10.

STAR GAZERS: Kingaroy Observatory's James Barclay with guests at the inaugural Dinner Under the Stars.

Mr Barclay’s passion for astronomy has not dimmed over time; he hopes to become an “astronomer for hire” and help raise funds for community needs.

“I still do voluntary research with NASA and have been with them since 1970,” he said.

“I’m self-taught, my passion, my drive and my enthusiasm just kept me going and here I am now, 77 orbits around the sun and I still live and breathe astronomy.

Mr Barclay also founded three astronomical societies during his career, including the Brisbane Astronomical Society and the South East Queensland Astronomical society which are still running today after more than three decades.

He said one of the biggest takeaways from his career had been all the “wonderful” people he had met over the years.

“I always say, you meet the nicest people under the stars.”

Fudooka High School students from Japan visit the Kingaroy Observatory with their host families as part of the Kingaroy SHS exchange program.

Originally published as James Barclay to sell Kingaroy Observatory