For thousands of years, humankind has been fascinated with the stars. Opened in the Wellington Botanic Gardens in 1941,the Carter Observatory is New Zealand's longest-serving national observatory.

The observatory is named after philanthropist Charles Rooking Carter, who left a bequest of £2240 to fund the building on his death in 1896. The bequest was administered by what is now the Royal Society of New Zealand to accumulate interest; it took thirty years before the fund was large enough to make Carter’s observatory a reality.

New public and governmental interest in the project led to the passing of the Carter Observatory Act 1938. In 1939, the first Carter Observatory Board was established. Land in the Wellington Botanic Gardens was set aside for the building and the Council donated the 9-inch Thomas Cooke historic telescope for the project.

Despite delays caused by New Zealand’s involvement in World War Two, Carter Observatory was opened to the public on the 20 December 1941. Designed by William Gray Young, the building featured the clean profiles of the Georgian Revival style. It was constructed out of brick-faced reinforced concrete on reinforced concrete foundations. It featured a brick podium, with projecting and receding bays and a flat roof to contrast with the dominating spheres of the observatory chambers where the telescopes were housed. Small windows were set into the side pavilions, but details were kept to a minimum.

The Carter Observatory took over astronomical work from the Dominion Observatory, and began research into asteroids, suns, and planetary bodies. A bequest from Ruth Crisp in 1967 provided for a library and for the purchase of a new research grade telescope that was installed in the southern dome.

The Carter Observatory became New Zealand’s national observatory in 1977. . In this capacity, Carter Observatory established outstations for research away from the lights of Wellington City, primarily at Black Birch in the South Island, to which the Ruth Crisp Telescope was moved in 1978. In 1982, a donation funded the purchase of a new 15 centimetre telescope for the southern dome. The Carter Observatory became the new home of the Golden Bay Planetarium in 1992 and in 1995 the observatory was recognised by the Government as the national heritage repository for astronomy.

As the lights of Wellington City made observation from Carter increasingly difficult, the focus of the Observatory began to change from scientific institute to public education. In 2005, a review of Carter Observatory commissioned by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology concluded that it was no longer appropriate for Carter Observatory to hold the title of national observatory. Wellington City Council took over its management in 2007 and the Carter Observatory Act was repealed in 2010. This repeal dissolved the Carter Observatory Board and officially terminated the Observatory’s role as the national observatory.

The termination of the observatory’s national responsibilities gave Carter Observatory a new lease on life. In 2006, plans were announced to transform it into a state of the art visitor attraction and space education facility. The refurbishment of the heritage building included a structural, thermal, fire and electrical upgrade, the brick exterior was earthquake strengthened and the interior fully insulated. New interactive exhibits were installed as well as the addition of a 9-metre digital planetarium. The new and improved Carter Observatory re-opened its doors on the 27 March 2010 with a mission to tell the stories of the Southern sky from New Zealand’s unique cultural, heritage and scientific standpoints. The Carter Observatory has found new life as the place for space in New Zealand for New Zealanders and international visitors.