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 No ...
, 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 Patron of the Society is Her Excellency, Professor, the Honourable
Kate Warner 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 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, 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 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, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian botanist and politician.
Early life
Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of William Gunn, lieutenant in the 72n ...
.
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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
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'' to publish
James Backhouse Walker's diary of a walk in 1887, including
William Piguenit'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 prop ...
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 Se ...
. 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
Further reading
* (1895) ''History of the Royal Society of Tasmania, with portraits of the President, Council and Secretary''. Hobart : The Society, Ferguson no. 15176.
*
Walker, James Backhouse. ''Early Tasmania : papers read before the Royal Society of Tasmania during the years 1888 to 1899''. Hobart : John Vail, Government Printer, 1914.
External links
Official websiteRoyal Society of Tasmaniaat 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