On Monday, 15^th February, 2021, the Royal Society of Tasmania delivered its Apology to Tasmanian Aboriginal people, taking responsibility for the negative impacts of its past actions.

View the Apology.

Read more about the event.

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Dear Royal Society Member

We appreciate your interest in the Royal Society of Tasmania during this difficult year.

If your membership expires at the end of 2020, we look forward to your renewal showing how much you value membership in our scientific community.

You can quickly renew in the online shop using your credit card. This method will also allow you to change your contact details (address or email) or name if either have changed.

New facility for automatic renewal

The Society now provides a brand new facility to allow your membership to be automatically renewed each year using credit card details you provide. You will need to download the renewal form to do this. You will find the Automatic Renewal box at the bottom of the form.

General Society email address change

The Society’s contact email address is now aligned with our web address. Please use admin@rst.org.au for all general email to the Society. For a simple message without attachments, you can use the Contact Us form in this website.

Published 1st December 2020
Editors: John Hill, Tony Hope, Ross Large, David Royle

To order a copy for delivery in Australia, use our online store.

For all international orders, use the Contact Us page in this website to let the Society know your requirements.

Mineral discoveries in the 1950 to 2010 period have been the backbone of wealth creation for all Australians and helped to maintain Australia’s economic position as the “Lucky Country”. However, discovery of buried minerals is an extremely complex science that requires knowledge, innovation, disciplined application of geological principles, teamwork, persistence and an ounce of luck.

In this book you will read 65 exciting and sometimes unbelievable stories of the life and achievements of a cross-section of Australian mineral explorers and educators who have advanced the science of discovery and contributed to the wealth of Australia for all Australians. Without these mineral discoveries, most in remote and inhospitable parts of Australia, many of us would not enjoy the high standards of living achieved in this country.

The stories told in these pages include the discovery of 150 mineral deposits, from the very largest (Olympic Dam of over 6 billion tonnes of copper, gold and uranium ore) to the smallest (the gold-rich Juno deposit in Tennant Creek). Collectively these mineral discoveries amount to many hundreds of billions of in-ground value, that have supported many mines, towns and communities in outback Australia for 50 years and beyond.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA

Memo to Members

Thursday 2 July 2020

Dear Members, 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the office bearers and Council members have worked very hard to keep the Society thriving. We are offering a vibrant program of online lectures via Zoom webinar, and recordings of these can be viewed on our newly established YouTube channel here. We have an exciting project in the pipeline for National Science Week: RST Council member Niamh Chapman is heading up a team to record a series of podcasts for our YouTube channel. This is a great way to share fascinating science with the community, and another first for our Society.

Restrictions on room occupancy mean we are not yet able to hold in-person lectures in our lecture room, but the RST office is open on Wednesday mornings for phone or in-person enquiries and sales of merchandise.

A highlight of the RST year is the launch of the annual calendar, and the 2021 edition is particularly beautiful. We extend grateful thanks to Dr Margaret Davies OAM for her work in compiling this. The images of artworks by Simpkinson de Wesselow come from paintings held in the Royal Society of Tasmania collection on loan to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The calendar features scenes of northern Tasmania in honour of the centenary of the Northern Branch of our Society, which will be celebrated next year.

We are continuing to do our utmost to fulfil the Society’s mission of ‘advancing knowledge.’ Papers are now being sought for our Papers and Proceedings – please consider contributing a paper, and encouraging your friends and colleagues to do likewise. Nominations are now open for the Peter Smith Medal – do you know an outstanding early career researcher you could nominate for this award? Bursaries to secondary students continue to be offered, and the Doctoral Awards will be advertised a little later in the year.

I extend very warm thanks to all the members who have supported our Society by renewing their membership during the pandemic, and we have been extremely pleased to welcome new members each month.

Please email me if you have any queries: royal.society@tmag.tas.gov.au

Yours sincerely, 

Mary Koolhof
President
The Royal Society of Tasmania

Want to learn something new while stuck at home?

Tune in to “That’s What I Call Science”, a weekly radio show and podcast featuring interesting and relevant science happening in Tasmania and across Australia.

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Niamh Chapman, one of our new Royal Society of Tasmania Council members, is the founding director and regular host of the show.

Led by an all-woman team of scientists from the University of Tasmania, the show chooses a topic each week and interviews a knowledgeable local guest in a conversational style interview.

 

 

 

 

 

The podcast can be found on major streaming services or at http://bit.ly/ThatsScienceTAS  

 

 The Royal Society of Tasmania Entomology Go challenge – what will you spot?

 

With nearly ten quintillion insects on earth you can’t catch em all!! But you may have a photo of an unknown insect on your phone, a dead one on your windowsill or a live one in your backyard?

Royal Society Entomologist, Shasta Henry, wants you to GO and discover some of the unique insects in your world; don’t worry She will help. Submit photos (or drawings) of your catches for the opportunity to receive Entomology Go ID cards and learn some wonderful facts about your insects.

*Safe for scientists aged 1-100+

Submit insect ID enquiries to bugirl@mail.com or send a Facebook message to Shasta Henry aka Bug Girl https://www.facebook.com/TasBugGirl/

Submissions should include the: LOCATION, DATE, SIZE (try including a coin in your photo)

WARNING: Some insects bite and some sting! Search respectfully – look but do not touch.

Click on this link for ideas from Shasta speaking in an interview with the ABC about catching and identifying bugs at home.