The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
is the vice-regal patron of the Society.
The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821. In 1850, after a period of informal activity, the Society was revived and its name became the Australian Philosophical Society and, in 1856, the Philosophical Society of New South Wales. The Society was granted Royal Assent on 12 December 1866 and at that time was renamed the Royal Society of New South Wales.
Membership is open to any person interested in the promotion of studies in Science, Art, Literature and Philosophy. Fellowship and Distinguished Fellowship are by election, and may be conferred on leaders in their fields. The Society is based in Sydney and has an active branches in Mittagong in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Regular monthly meetings and public lectures are well attended by both members and visitors.
The Society publishes a peer-reviewed journal, the ''
Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'', the second-oldest peer-reviewed publication in the Southern Hemisphere.
History
The Royal Society of New South Wales, Australia traces its origins to the Philosophical Society of Australasia, established on 27 June 1821 and was the first scientific society in the then British Colony of New South Wales.
The Society was formed "with a view to enquiring into the various branches of physical science of this vast continent and its adjacent regions". On his arrival in Sydney late in 1821, the newly appointed Governor,
Sir Thomas Brisbane
Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...
, was offered and accepted the position of President.
Following a period of informal activity, the Society was revitalised (led by Dr Henry Douglass, one of the original founders) and renamed the
Australian Philosophical Society
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society.
The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1 ...
on 19 January 1850. The society was renamed the ''Philosophical Society of New South Wales'' in 1856. On 12 December 1866, Queen Victoria granted Royal Assent to change its name to ''The Royal Society of New South Wales''. The Society was incorporated by Act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1881.
The rules of the Society provided that the Governor of New South Wales should be President ''ex officio''. After the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the Governor-General became Patron of the Society, and the Governor New South Wales the Vice-Patron. From 1938 to 2014, the Society was under the joint patronage of the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor of NSW. The Society now has a single Vice-Regal Patron, the Governor of NSW.
Throughout its history, the Society has done much to foster local research particularly in science, through meetings, symposia, publications and international scientific exchange, and has supported and fostered the endeavours of other organisations dedicated to the furtherance of knowledge.
The Society encourages "... ''studies and investigations in Science, Art, Literature and Philosophy, to promote and further the development of Science and its relationship with Art, Literature and Philosophy and their allied disciplines and applications, to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas amongst the Members and Fellows of the Society and others on these and kindred topics and to disseminate knowledge to the people of New South Wales and beyond ''..." through the following activities:
* Publications of results of scientific investigations through its Journal and Proceedings;
* Awarding prizes and medals for outstanding achievements in research;
* Liaison with other similar bodies;
* Holding meetings for the benefit of members and the general public (special meetings are held for the Pollock Memorial Lecture in Physics and Mathematics, the Liversidge Research Lecture in Chemistry, the Poggendorf Memorial Lecture in Agriculture, the Clarke Memorial Lecture in Geology and the Warren Lecture and Prize in engineering, applied science and technology, and the Royal Society of NSW History and Philosophy of Science Medal); and
* Maintaining a library.
Journal
The Society's journal, the ''Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'' is one of the oldest peer-reviewed publications in the Southern Hemisphere. Much innovative research of the 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g. Lawrence Hargrave's work on flight) was first brought to the attention of the scientific world through the ''Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales''. In the last few decades specialist journals have become preferred for highly technical work but the Journal and Proceedings remains an important publication for multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary work.
The Journal and Proceedings are exchanged with hundreds of institutions worldwide. Issues are published June and December each year.
The Society welcomes scholarly work to be considered for publication in the Journal. Preference is given to work done in Australia which has relevance to New South Wales. Intending authors must read the style guide, available via the Society's web site
Journal, before submitting their manuscript for review.
Distinguished Fellows of the Society
The Society recognises outstanding contributions to science, art, literature or philosophy with the position of Distinguished Fellow. Distinguished Fellows of the Society are entitled to use the postnominal ''Dist FRSN''. There can be up to 25 Distinguished Fellows at any one time.
Current Distinguished Fellows of the Society
Past Distinguished Fellows of the Society
Notable members
*
Charles Anderson, mineralogist, paleontologist and president in 1924
*
Louis Becke
George Lewis Becke (or Louis Becke; 18 June 1855 – 18 February 1913) was an Australian Pacific trader, short story writer and novelist.
Early life
Becke was born at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, son of Frederick Becke, Clerk of Petty Ses ...
, writer
*
John Blaxland, Army officer, historian and academic
*
William Branwhite Clarke
William Branwhite Clarke, FRS (2 June 179816 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.
Early life and England
Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk, the eldest child of William Clarke, schoolmaster, and h ...
, geologist and long-time vice-president
*
James Charles Cox, conchologist
*
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave, MRAeS, (29 January 18506 July 1915) was a British-born Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.
Biography
Lawrence Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletch ...
, a pioneer of manned flight and aeronautics
*
William Stanley Jevons
William Stanley Jevons (; 1 September 183513 August 1882) was an English economist and logician.
Irving Fisher described Jevons's book ''A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy'' (1862) as the start of the mathematical method in ec ...
, one of the founders of microeconomics
*
Philip Sydney Jones
Sir Philip Sydney Jones (15 April 1836 – 18 September 1918) was an Australian medical practitioner and University of Sydney vice-chancellor 1904–1906. He was knighted in 1905 for his services to the treatment of tubercuulosis. He carried out ...
, surgeon, a member for 51 years
*
Gerard Krefft
Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 19 February 1881), a talented artist and draughtsman, and the Curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861-1874), was one of Australia's first and most influential zoologists and ...
,
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
,
palaeontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
, and Curator of the
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
(1861-1874)
*
Robert Hamilton Mathews
Robert Hamilton Mathews (1841–1918) was an Australian surveyor and self-taught anthropologist who studied the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, especially those of Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland. He was a member of the R ...
, anthropologist and surveyor
*
Eliezer Levi Montefiore
Eliezer Levi Montefiore (1820 – 22 October 1894) was a businessman, art enthusiast, and the first director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Montefiore was born in Barbados to merchant Isaac Jacob Levi (who also had a home in Brussels) a ...
(elected member 1875), first director of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
*
William Scott, astronomer and clergyman
*
Edward Wollstonecraft
Edward Wollstonecraft (, ; 1783 7 December 1832) was a successful businessman in early colonial Australia, settling in what is now Sydney. He was the nephew of the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and cousin to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the ...
, a founding member of the original Philosophical Society of Australasia
*
Horatio George Anthony Wright
Horatio George Anthony Wright (1827 – 14 September 1901) was an Australian microscopist and surgeon. Wright was born in Maidstone, Kent, England and died in Sydney, New South Wales. In 1868 he attended Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, th ...
, microscopist and medical practitioner, honorary treasurer 1879–85 and 1893–1901, vice-president 1885–86 and 1891–92, chairman microscopy 1877–92
Awards
The society makes a number of awards for meritorious contributions in the field of science.
The
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.
The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Bran ...
is awarded by the Society for distinguished work in the
Natural science
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s. It was named in honour of the
Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society. The medal was to be ''"awarded for meritorious contributions to
Geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
,
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
and
Natural History of
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
, to be open to men of science, whether resident in Australasia or elsewhere"''. The Medal is now awarded annually for distinguished work in the natural sciences (
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
,
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
) done in the Australian Commonwealth and its territories. Each discipline is considered every three years. For a complete list of medalists see
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.
The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Bran ...
.
The
Edgeworth David Medal
The Edgeworth David Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished contributions by a young scientist under the age of 35 years for work done predominantly in Australia or which contributed to the advancement ...
, established in 1942, is awarded for distinguished contributions by a young scientists under the age of thirty-five years for work done mainly in Australia or its territories or contributing to Australian science. It is named after the geologist, Sir
Edgeworth David
Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter V ...
, FRS, who wrote the first comprehensive record of the geology of Australia.
The
James Cook Medal The James Cook Medal is awarded on an occasional basis by the Royal Society of New South Wales for "outstanding contributions to science and human welfare in and for the Southern Hemisphere". It was established in 1947 from funds donated by Henry F ...
, established in 1947, is awarded periodically for outstanding contributions to science and human welfare in and for the Southern Hemisphere.
Presidents
From 1850 to 1880, the President of the Society was the Governor of New South Wales. In 1881, when the Society was incorporated by an Act of the New South Wales Parliament, the Act provided that Presidents of the Society be elected by the members.
References
*
*Tyler, Peter (2010) ''Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'', vol 143, nos 435–6, pp 29–43
External links
Society web-site
{{authority control
Scientific organisations based in Australia
Society of New South Wales, Royal
Learned societies of Australia
1821 establishments in Australia
Clubs and societies in New South Wales
Organizations established in 1821
Philosophical societies in Australia