page_title: Observatory, Cape Town
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Observatory, Cape Town / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Victoria (also McClean) Observatory in Observatory, Cape Town, houses four telescopes on the same mount. The building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was completed in 1896/1897. This media shows a South African Protected Site with SAHRA file reference [1].
context_page_description: Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa that is bordered by Mowbray to the south, and Salt River to the northwest. Known affectionately as Obz, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood, most of the students attending the University of Cape Town located close by. It is also the home of the South African Astronomical Observatory headquarters as well as Groote Schuur Hospital.
context_section_description: In 1510, the area was the scene of a raid by the Portuguese, led by Francisco de Almeida, on a Goringhaiqua Khoikhoi village, which ultimately led to the death of de Almeida and approximately sixty of his compatriots. 
  Modern-day Observatory traces its origins to the Koornhoop Colony land grant issued in 1657.  Between February 1657 and February 1658, fourteen free burghers were granted land by the Dutch East India Company along the Liesbeeck River valley. The then Governor of the Cape, Jan van Riebeek, decreed that a fortified building called “Fort Coornhoop” be built as one of several small forts to protect against the Khoikhoi. Part of what was developed as Koornhoop became Uitwyk, which is now known as Malta Farm.
  
  The name is derived from the location and construction of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope in the area at 33°56′7.13″S 18°28′38.47″E in 1820. The Royal Observatory in Observatory, Cape Town, houses the McClean Telescope. The building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was completed in 1897. The original buildings now serve as the headquarters of the South African Astronomical Observatory, with an on-site museum exhibiting various historic instruments and telescopes. 
  During the years of apartheid, Observatory was one of the few de facto 'grey' suburbs where all races lived together. On the evening of 30 December 1993, three men entered a popular student venue on Station Road, called the Heidelberg Tavern and opened fire, killing four people and injuring five. The three APLA operatives - Humphrey Luyanda Gqomfa, Vuyisile Brian Madasi and Zola Prince Mabala - were convicted in November 1994 for what became known as the Heidelberg Massacre. On the 16 July 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission granted the three amnesty.
caption: McClean Observatory Cape Town
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