This watercolour of Hobart from New Town Bay to Mount Direction, in 1846, is by F.G Simpkinson, a Royal Navy Lieutenant (one of Humboldt's Lieutenants). He was in control of the Rossbank Observatory which, with other observatories world wide, studied terrestrial magnetism (amongst the first global experiments). From 1829, for nearly 200 years, due to the valuable physical aspects of its location with proximity to the Antarctic, Hobart has become increasingly important internationally in many fields of scientific research, e.g. in studies of terrestrial magnetism and navigation problems with the magnetic compass, and various climatic measurements. In 1981 the Australian Antarctic Programme was moved from Canberra to Hobart, now a premier centre of Antarctic scientists world-wide. It is ideally situated to carry out research and governance issues arising in Antarctica.