The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

outside the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and its mission is the advancement of knowledge. The work of the Royal Society of Tasmania includes: * Promoting Tasmanian historical, scientific and technological knowledge for the benefit of Tasmanians, * Fostering Tasmanian public engagement and participation in the quest for objective knowledge, * Recognising excellence in academia and supporting Tasmanian academic excellence, and * Providing objective advice for policy relating to Tasmanian issues. The Royal Society of Tasmania coat of arms

The Royal Society of Tasmania coat of arms

The Patron of the Society is Her Excellency, Professor, the Honourable

Kate Warner Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th Governor of Tasmania from 2014 to 2021. Early life and education Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend in Hobart, Tasmania, and attended St Mi ...

AM, Governor of Tasmania.

History

The Society was founded on 14 October 1843 at a meeting convened by Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, Lieutenant Governor, as the Botanical and Horticultural Society of Van Diemen’s Land. Its original aim was to ‘develop the physical character of the Island and illustrate its natural history and productions’. Established under its own Act of the

Tasmanian Parliament The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and T ...

, the Society is permitted it to create its own By-Laws. In its early years, the Society was responsible for much of the work in founding the

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (''RTBG''), which cover an area of approximately 14 hectares (34.6 acres), in Hobart located within the Queens Domain. History The gardens were established in 1818 and is the second oldest Botanical Garden ...

, and also began building up substantial collections of both art and natural history specimens, all housed in The Royal Society of Tasmania Museum. These collections became the basis of the

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

in 1885, when the Society gave them to the Government. The Society also built up a substantial Library. In September 1930 a new library was opened which held more than 20,000 books and pamphlets. The society’s coat of arms, carved in wood by local artist Nellie Payne was presented at this time. A branch of the Society was formed in Launceston in 1853. It lapsed but was reconstituted in 1921 and has continued since then. In 1934 the ornithologist Jane Ada Fletcher became the first woman to give a lecture before other members.

The Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Drawing its inspiration from the illustrious original Royal Society founded in London in 1660, the Royal Society of Tasmania is the oldest royal society outside the United Kingdom, having had a continuing existence since 1843. Earlier bodies include the 1837 formation of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History by Sir John Franklin assisted by

Ronald Campbell Gunn Ronald Campbell Gunn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian Botany, botanist and politician. Early life Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of W ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

became Patron of the Botanical and Horticultural Society of Van Diemen’s Land in 1844 and the name was changed to The Royal Society of Tasmania of Van Diemen’s Land for Horticulture, Botany and the Advancement of Science. Under the current Act of Parliament, passed in 1911, the name was shortened to The Royal Society of Tasmania.

Sesquicentenary

On the event of the

sesquicentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

of the Society in 1993 it produced the volume ''

Walk to the West ''Walk to the West'' was a book published to celebrate both the sesquicentenary (150 years) of the Royal Society of Tasmania in 1993, and the event from which the book is made – the ''Walk to the West Coast of Tasmania'' by James Backhouse Wal ...

'' to publish James Backhouse Walker's diary of a walk in 1887, including

William Piguenit William Charles Piguenit (27 August 1836 – 17 July 1914) was an Australian landscape painter. Early life Piguenit was born in Hobart, Tasmania, to Frederick Le Geyt Piguenit and Mary Ann née Igglesden. Frederick had been transported to Va ...

's paintings from that journey.

Membership and activities

In 2017 the Society's membership numbered about 350 from throughout Tasmania and beyond, meeting in Hobart and Launceston. The Society is administered by a Council comprising elected and ex officio members. The membership of the Royal Society of Tasmania is open to all. The priorities of the Society are addressed through lecture programmes, panel discussions, symposia, excursions, publications including the peer reviewed annual journal ''Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania'', and a library. Eminent scholars are recognised through various awards and bursaries. The Society is currently based in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart. The Society’s library collection is now based within the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

Morris Miller Library, Sandy Bay Campus. The Northern Chapter is based at the

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) is a museum located in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. The QVMAG is the largest museum in Australia not located in a capital city. History The foundation stone for the original building to ...

, Launceston.

Truganini

Prior to her death

Truganini Truganini (also known as Lallah Rookh; c. 1812 – 8 May 1876) was an Aboriginal Tasmanian woman. She was one of the last native speakers of the Tasmanian languages and one of the last individuals solely of Aboriginal Tasmanian descent. Truga ...

had pleaded to colonial authorities for a respectful burial, and requested that her ashes be scattered in the

D'Entrecasteaux Channel The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman S ...

. She feared that her body would be dissected and analyzed for scientific purposes as Aboriginal Tasmanian Wiliam Lenne's body had been. Despite her wishes, within two years, her skeleton was exhumed by the Royal Society of Tasmania and later placed on display.

References

External links

Official websiteRoyal Society of Tasmania
at Tasmanian Online Communities
Electronic version of the minutes of the first meeting of "The Society", Van Diemens Land 1841
{{authority control Society of Tasmania, Royal Scientific societies based in Australia 1844 establishments in Australia Organisations based in Hobart Clubs and societies in Tasmania Learned societies of Australia