This year is the hundredth anniversary of the erection of a monument on Forestier Peninsula in 1923 by the RST. The monument commemorates the landing of the Abel Tasman Expedition in Tasmania on 3 December 1642.

The Tasmanian Historical Research Association (THRA) is organizing an excursion to the monument and has offered 15 places to RST members.

Date: Sunday 3 December 2023.

Itinerary: Participants make their way to “Bangor” independently. The excursion will start at the Bangor Shed, just south of Dunalley, at 10am. After morning tea and a brief introduction, we will take a bus through “Bangor” to the start of the track, arriving there at 11.30am. A hilly walk of around 15-20 minutes will take us to Tasman Bay and the Tasman Monument where participants can have lunch (BYO). For the more energetic, there will be an option for a 45-60 minute return walk to North Bay where Tasman and later Marion du Fresne (in 1772) anchored their vessels. Participants will return to the bus by 2pm and then to their cars at the Bangor Shed at around 3pm. The Shed offers wine-tastings for those who would like to indulge! THRA member Tom Dunbabin farmed “Bangor” for many years and will provide commentary during the tour.

Cost: $30 per person, includes morning tea and bus transport between the Bangor Shed and the start of the walk to the monument.

To secure a place on this excursion, please send a short message before 30 September to admin@rst.org.au with the subject line “Tasman Monument excursion”. Payment will be due 1 November 2023.

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Below is a photo of the plaque on Tasman Monument at Bangor. Click on the image for an enlarged view.

“At this spot the Expedition under Abel Jansz Tasman being the first white people to set foot on Tasmanian soil planted the Dutch flag on December 3rd 1642 as a memorial to posterity and to the inhabitants of the country. This stone was erected by the Royal Society of Tasmania 1923.”

Transcription from plaque.

The Royal Society of Tasmania is the oldest scholarly society in Australia and New Zealand and its mission is the advancement of knowledge.

The RM Johnston Memorial Medal was established in 1920 by the Royal Society of Tasmania, with the first award being presented in 1923. It is intended to acknowledge a scholar of great distinction in any field within the Society’s purview. The Medal commemorates Robert M. Johnston who served as Vice-President of the Society from 1897 to 1911 and 1916 – 1917. The awardee may be invited to deliver the “RM Johnston Memorial Lecture”.

In 1997, the Royal Society of Tasmania instituted the MR Banks Medal, to be awarded biennially to an outstanding mid-career scholar in any field within the Society’s purview. The medal honours Dr Maxwell R Banks’ contributions to science and to the Royal Society of Tasmania. The awardee may be invited to deliver the “MR Banks Lecture”.

Nominations for these medals are now open:

• Nominations may be made by anyone, although no self-nominations will be accepted.
• Nominations must be received by cob on 31 August, 2023.

Further guidelines for medal nominations are available via this link.

Nominations for positions on The Royal Society of Tasmania Council are now open for election at the Annual General Meeting.

The following positions are open for nomination:

• Three Council members (for 1 & 3 year terms to be determined by ballot at the first Council meeting after the AGM)
• Honorary Secretary (1 year; may be re-elected)
• Honorary Treasurer (1 year; may be re-elected)
• President (1 year; may be re-elected for 2 years maximum)
• Vice President (1 year; may be re-elected for 2 years maximum)
• Student Councillor (3 years)

Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer, Mrs Mary Koolhof by Sunday 26 February, 2023.

The nomination form can be printed/downloaded from here. Copies may also be obtained from the RST Office open Thursdays 9.00 am to 12 noon.

The completed and signed form may be returned by mail to:

The Returning Officer
C/- The Royal Society of Tasmania
GPO Box 1166
Hobart TAS 7001

OR delivered to the RST office at 19 Davey Street

OR a signed and scanned copy may be emailed to admin@rst.org.au

For further information, please contact the Honorary Secretary at secretary@rst.org.au

Any change to the Rules of the RST requires approval at an Annual General Meeting.

A small change is recommended for the second paragraph of Rule 64 ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT. This change will be presented for approval at the AGM. The change is intended to ensure that the Society will remain compliant through future changes in the relevant government bodies and the legislation.

The current version of the second paragraph of Rule 64 is:

ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT
64. …..
The Society will register with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) or its successors in law, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Business Registry (ABR), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), any similar Tasmanian Government body where that registration will benefit the Society, or is required by law. All material issued by the Society will comply with all rules and regulations created under the legislation created by each of the above bodies.

Changes to this paragraph have been proposed, as follows:

ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT
64. …
The Society will register with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) or its successors in law, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Business Registry (ABR), and any similar Tasmanian or Federal Government body where that registration is required by law or will benefit the Society. All material issued by the Society will comply with all rules and regulations created under the legislation created by each of the above bodies.

Jocelyn McPhie
President

The Royal Society of Tasmania’s Clive Lord Memorial Medal has been awarded to Emeritus Professor Stefan Petrow (pictured below). Professor Petrow has made an outstanding contribution to diverse aspects of Tasmanian history through prolific research, teaching, post-graduate supervision and public engagement sustained for more than 30 years.

Stefan completed an undergraduate degree and Masters at University of Tasmania followed by a PhD at University of Cambridge. He was appointed to the School of History and Classics at the University of Tasmania in 2000, and revitalised the teaching of Australian history, inspiring many students to take on Tasmanian topics. He has supervised 37 PhD and MA students. Professor Petrow served as Director of the Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies (2013-19) at the University of Tasmania and two terms as President of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association.

Professor Petrow has published on public health, urban planning, juvenile delinquency, technical education, libraries, religious sectarianism, wild life conservation, animal cruelty and military service. His 1997 paper on the events surrounding the mutilation of the body of William Lanne in 1869 has informed many during the recent discussion over the future of the statue of William Crowther.

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The Clive Lord Memorial Medal was established in 1930. It is awarded every four years to a scholar distinguished for research in, alternatively, Tasmanian science or as in 2022, Tasmanian history, with the awardee giving the Clive Lord Memorial Lecture.

Clive Errol Lord, a naturalist and museum director, became Tasmania’s leading ornithologist, and was instrumental in the inception of Tasmania’s first national park in 1916. He successfully campaigned for the protection of land and sea animals that led to the Animals and Birds Protection Act of 1936, and also for the preservation of penguins and seals of Macquarie Island that resulted in the island being proclaimed a wildlife reserve. He was Secretary of the Royal Botanical Gardens for many years, and Secretary of the Royal Society of Tasmania from 1918-1933.

The Royal Society of Tasmania is proud of its role as the custodian of one of the most significant collections of colonial works on paper in Australia. It is also our responsibility to make sure that these works are repaired, conserved and finally exhibited, and this requires considerable funding. The Gala Fundraising event at Government House on Tuesday 6 September – our most significant fundraiser yet – drew much interest from a large group of those who appreciate the quality of the collection and are supportive of our efforts. A feature of the evening was a commissioned work “Echoes of Van Diemen’s Land” from composer Thomas Rimes which was written as a direct response to a selection of exceptional Tasmanian landscape paintings by Francis Simpkinson de Wesselow – 1819-1906.

We are pleased to provide a short film recording of the event and express our gratitude to film maker Anthos Simon for capturing the evening for us to enjoy and share more widely. Click below to start the video.

Bruce Piasecki and Andrea Masters Award
on Business and Society Writing.
Applications close 31 August.

A new non-fiction writing prize for the Australasia/Oceania Region will recognise a dynamic writer who aims to ignite positive social change through published work on any theme exploring key business and society issues.

The AUD$10,000 Bruce Piasecki and Andrea Masters Award on Business and Society Writing seeks to inspire future generations to become catalysts for a better, more just society. The winner of the award will be announced in September 2022 with an award ceremony to follow.

Applicants must be between 18 and 45 years old and have published at least one work before the 31 August application deadline. Submissions can include essays, research papers, books and articles. Topics must be thematically consistent with positive social impact and business. Themes include, but are not limited to, climate change, racial/gender equality, sustainability, innovation, and new approaches to lessen war and social stresses.

To apply, send your published pieces (link or PDF) and a brief (1 to 2-page) working plan addressing your future writing endeavours and career plans for the next five to 10 years to awards@ahcgroup.com (also cc: rsa@scienceaustralia.org.au). Please contact rsa@scienceaustralia.org.au with any questions you may have.

The award is being offered in collaboration with the Royal Societies of Australia and the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi.

The award is financed by the Creative Force Foundation started by Bruce Piasecki, the founder of the AHC Group Inc. He is the author of A New Way to Wealth, 2040: A Fable, Doing More with Less, World Inc. and Missing Persons.

RST Executive Positions:
Vice President, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer
Expressions of Interest

Expressions of Interest are invited for three Executive positions that will be open at the next AGM (March 2023). Our current Vice President Tony Webster, Honorary Secretary Marley Large and Honorary Treasurer David Wilson have all indicated that they will not accept nomination for these positions next year.

Although the next AGM may seem long in the future, potential replacements will benefit from time to become familiar with what is expected. Summaries of the duties involved in each position follow.

The Vice President is charged with supporting and when necessary, delegating for the President and is expected to participate in RST Council committees. The Vice-President may serve for a maximum of two years but is elected annually, and usually succeeds the President to that position.

The Honorary Secretary:

• arranges the meetings of the Society, the Council and the Foundation;
• ensures that Minutes of all meetings are kept and entered in Minute Books;
• has responsibility for the preparation and compilation of documents relating to RST Council meetings and the RST Foundation; 
• has primary responsibility for correspondence to and from the Society;
• liaises with the Newsletter Editor regarding newsletter production;
• provides a report on activities at each meeting of Council. 

The Honorary Treasurer:

• has general financial oversight of the Society’s affairs;
• keeps accurate records of all money received and expended;
• prepares and presents reports at each Council meeting on the Society’s financial position and obtains Council approval for expenditure; 
• produces an annual Statement of Income and Expenditure and a Balance Sheet, and arranges the auditing of the Society’s accounts;
• issues receipts for all money received and oversees the Society’s accounts with banks and other financial institutions;
• is responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Society, ensuring proper financial records are kept and ensuring adequate insurance is in place.

The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer are the Line Managers of the Office Manager. The Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer are elected annually and hold office for one year but are eligible for re-election.

If you have an interest in one of these positions, please write to President Jocelyn McPhie at j.mcphie@utas.edu.au outlining the basis of your interest. Feel free also to contact our current Honorary Secretary (marleyl@bigpond.net.au) and Honorary Treasurer (dwilson.tas@gmail.com) for details of the positions.