The telescope was bought by Monash University from the deceased estate of Mr. L. Jeffree in Bendigo in 1968 and the staff and students modified it to take a spectrograph. It was installed here in 1972.
It was originally a 16 inch mirror in a wooden tube. The wooden tube was unable to handle the weight of the spectrograph and other instruments, so Monash University decided to upgrade.
The 18 inch mirror was installed in 1984.
Was last used scientific research by Monash University in 2004.
MBO Inc. took on the repairs, upkeep and maintenance of the facilities in 2011.
