The Royal Society of Tasmania

The advancement of knowledge

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Tasmania’s Oldest Fossils

The Tasmanian Branch of the Geological Society of Australia and the Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania invite you to a public lecture at 1.30 pm on Sunday 14 August 2022 by Dr Peter McGoldrick, in the Meeting Room of QVMAG (Inveresk). Full COVID vaccination and the wearing of face masks are highly desirable for anyone attending in person.

Admission is free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania and the Geological Society of Australia. The charge is $4 for students, QVMAG Friends, TMAG Friends, and members of the Launceston Historical Society. For all others, admission is $6.

You may if you wish view the lecture remotely via ZOOM. In this case you must register in advance to ensure that you receive an email containing instructions for joining the webinar on the day of the talk. Click here to register for ZOOM.

Click here to view the latest flyer for the event and print if necessary.

Darwin was puzzled by the paucity of fossils in Precambrian rocks. Twelve years ago, a new occurrence of an enigmatic Precambrian macrofossil (Horodyskia – ‘string of beads’) was described from a quarry near Balfour. The first Horodyskia fossils were found in Montana, and the Tasmanian occurrence is now known to be of similar age. This talk will describe the Tasmanian Horodyskia discovery and geological (and historical) links between Tasmania and Montana. Some results from recent Balfour field work will be presented, emphasising the importance of the site for, perhaps, solving ‘Darwin’s dilemma’.

Bead structures of Horodyskia organism,
Source: Wikipedia entry for Horodyskia.

Peter McGoldrick is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences/CODES at the University of Tasmania. He taught undergraduate earth science and led research teams investigating supergiant sediment-hosted zinc-lead and copper deposits found in Precambrian rocks in Australia and Zambia. He now helps lead the ‘FrOTHies’ research group at UTas.

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2018 Northern branch lectures

FEBRUARY 25 Jim Palfreyman “2016 Glitch of the Vela Pulsar” – In a world first, the only ever pulsar glitch observed in action with a large radio telescope. Right here in Tasmania.

** ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1.15 pm March 25 **

MARCH 25 Prof Pat Quilty “Highlights of Tasmania’s Antarctic Exploration – Scott (why Scott?) and others” – Tasmania has long been a major location for Antarctica explorers. Researching their history has revealed some eye-opening surprises.

APRIL 22 Prof Hamish Maxwell-Stewart “Height, Health and History in Victoria and Tasmania 1850-1920” – How human stature can be used to explore early life disadvantage.

MAY 27 Dr Alison Alexander “Jane Franklin – the Real Founder of the Royal Society of Tasmania?” – The woman who organised, dominated, persuaded and commanded the men around her to co-operate in forming a scientific society.

JUNE 24 Dr Karin Orth “Mega Volcanic Eruptions and the Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time.” – Can Earth’s own internal heat engine driving volcanism be the harbinger of mass extinction?

JULY 22 Dr Caitlyn Vertigan “Shoot. Catalogue. Eat: Interacting with Nature at a Tasmanian Penal Station” – The early history of the Port Arthur penal station (1830-77) was filled with scientific exploration that today might be considered somewhat outside the accepted scientific regime.

** SCIENCE WEEK: AUGUST 11-19 **

AUGUST 26 Assoc Prof Jonathan Binns “Why Does an Engineer Need a PhD?” – Real problems in industry, defence and sport tackled with research and innovation, in Tasmania, Australia and the World.

SEPTEMBER 23 Dr Patsy Cameron “Voices From the Other Side of the Colonial Frontier” – A story of the social, cultural and spiritual survival of a unique people who lived on the Bass Strait islands from 1810.

OCTOBER 28 TBA “Breaking New Ground” – PhD students from the University of Tasmania will be presenting synopses and answering questions about their current research and progress. Topics TBA.

** The Annual QVMAG Staff Lecture**

NOVEMBER 25 David Maynard “Tasmania’s Forgotten Emus” – Before the thylacine there were other less well-known extinctions, including the Tasmanian emu soon after European arrival.