Nth Branch Lectures Archive

The Geneva Conventions: Protection of Medical Personnel in War Time 26th March 2017 1.30 pm QVMAG Meeting Room

Dr George Merridew will present The Geneva Conventions: Protection of Medical Personnel in War Time in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 1.30 pm Sunday 26th March 2017
The Geneva Conventions were conceived after the 1859 Battle of Solferino, in Lombardy. They define the wartime handling (allowable or prohibited) of captured military personnel and of civilians under occupation. The Conventions prohibit gross violations of humane principles, and encourage the medical care of the sick and injured. The facilities and staff of enemy military medical units are protected, pragmatically in the interests of the patients, whether enemy or friendly. Medical staff may use weapons to protect themselves and their patients. How nuanced are the rules? What is combatant immunity?

Australian military medical staff at weapons training

Dr George Merridew is an anaesthetist, practising in Launceston since 1986. He grew up in Devonport, Tasmania, graduated in Medicine at UTas 1972, and later trained as a specialist anaesthetist in Adelaide, qualifying in 1983. Dr Merridew has worked in all states of Australia, and on five continents, mostly in civilian practice. He spent four years as a full-time Medical Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, and thirty years in the RAAF Reserve. He has served as an Australian military anaesthetist in multiple deployments to conflict zones.
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
As these events are popular, RSVP is essential by Thursday 23rd February 2017:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Dr Merridew & Mr Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defence

Medicinal Cannabis – Hope or Hype? 26 February 1.30 pm QVMAG Meeting Room

Over the last two years, there has been a push to make cannabis available for medical purposes. This has resulted in changes to the legislation governing cannabis cultivation and the use of ‘Medicinal cannabis’ at both State and Federal levels, and the NSW government approving three clinical trials. This presentation will cover the general effects of cannabis on the brain, how cannabis and ‘cannabis culture’ has changed over the last 50 years, and how to weed out fact from fiction in the medicinal cannabis debate.

Professor Dom Geraghty holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Pharmacology (1981) from the National University of Ireland, Dublin, and a PhD (1988) from Deakin University, Victoria. He has been a teaching and research academic at the University of Tasmania for nearly 26 years, and is currently the Deputy Chair of Academic Senate. Dom is president of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT), the premier society for the study of medicines and chemicals in our Asia-Pacific region. His research focuses on the ‘hot’ constituents of chilli peppers, particularly their effects on the brain, immune system and blood clotting.

Medicinal Cannabis – Hope or Hype?
in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
1.30 pm Sunday 26th February 2017
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
As these events are popular, RSVP is essential by Thursday 23rd February 2017:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

27th November 2016 QVMAG Director Richard Mulvaney ‘The Queen Vic: 125 and still going strong’

1.30 pm Sunday 27th November

The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) celebrated its 125^th anniversary on 29 April 2016 with an exhibition in the original museum building, now the art gallery, on Wellington Street. Titled The World Inside, the exhibition featured an eclectic assortment of objects arranged very much in the style of a 19^th Century museum, with special reference to the longstanding first Director, Herbert Scott. While it opened in 1891 with significant promise, its origins go back to the formation of the Launceston Mechanics Institute in 1842 and the Royal Society (northern branch) in 1853. It was the urgings of these two societies that gave rise to the Queen Vic and who have contributed to it significantly since. Today it is Australia’s largest regional museum and art gallery.

Richard Mulvaney has been the Director of QVMAG for six years. He completed a Bachelor of Arts (Prehistory/History) at ANU in 1980, a Bachelor of Letters (Prehistory) ANU in 1983 and a Graduate Diploma Museum Studies (Monash) in 1984. He has held several positions in museums across Australia, including the Australian War Memorial, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Sovereign Hill, the Bradman Museum, the NSW Rail Heritage Centre and Museums and Galleries NSW. He is currently on the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board, the Port Arthur Historic Site Conservation committee and is Vice-President of Museums Australia the peak industry body based in Canberra.

Venue: Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
As these events are popular, RSVP is essential by Thursday 24th November 2016:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

23rd October 2016 Seeking the Master Cave: Junee-Florentine Karst, Tasmania

In the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 1.30 pm Sunday 23rd October 2016

Alan Jackson

Systematic exploration of the Junee-Florentine karst system in southern Tasmania has been undertaken by recreational cavers and professional speleologists since the 1950s. This exploration has shown the area to contain a complex, interconnected system of caves, including sections of ‘master cave’ where smaller conduits combine to form large passages with high water flows. Documentation of the caves has provided extensive geological, geomorphological, biological and palaeontological (mega-fauna remains and past climatic conditions) information, as well as a lot of fun and adventure. The presentation will outline the methods, past and present, utilised by cavers to discover, explore and document the caves.

Growling Swollet

Alan Jackson is a 36-year-old environmental consultant based in Hobart. He completed a Bachelor of Science (Botany) at UTAS in 2001. He joined the Southern Tasmanian Caverneers (Hobart-based caving club) in 2001 and has been an active member ever since, pushing the exploration and documentation of Tasmania’s caves. He has also joined international speleological expeditions to NZ, China and Vietnam. His primary caving focus for over ten years has been the discovery of ‘missing’ sections of ‘master cave’ in Tasmania’s largest karst drainage system at Mt Field.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
As these events are popular, RSVP is essential by Thursday 20th October 2016:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Genetic Analysis of Australia’s Extinct Fauna, Dr Kieren Mitchell, 25th September, 2016

In the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk, 1.30 pm Sunday 25th September 2016

Following its death, the DNA of an animal can be preserved in its bones and teeth for thousands of years. Sequencing this “ancient DNA” allows us to gain insights into the identity and evolution of now-extinct species. In this presentation Kieren will discuss the history of the ancient DNA field, factors affecting the preservation of DNA, and work he is currently involved in focused on extinct Australian species such as the thylacine and giant short-faced kangaroos.

Dr Kieren Mitchell grew up in Tasmania before moving to Adelaide for university, where he studied genetics and evolutionary biology. Having completed his PhD, he now works at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide. He currently collaborates with researchers from around the world to study extinct species from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and Australia.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
As these events are popular, RSVP is essential Thursday 22nd

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in Under-Ice Exploration and Research, Mr Peter King, 28 August, 2016

August 28, 1.30 pm in the Meeting Room, QVMAG, Inveresk

Mr Peter King

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are free swimming robots, which can travel to great depths and far reaching locations. Beginning in the 70s, researchers have tried to exploit their capabilities for working in one of the most remote environments of the earth, under-ice. With continued development and new technologies AUVs continue increase their vital role in under-ice exploration and polar science. In 2015 the Australian Maritime College, under the Antarctic Gateway Partnership project, committed to the purchase and development of an advanced, polar capable AUV. This talk will outline some history of AUV operations in under-ice exploration, their current role in Antarctica and the engineering challenges they face.

Mr Peter King is the coordinator of the Australian Maritime College’s AUV Facility. Since obtaining his engineering degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, he has spent over a decade working in ocean technology, research, and autonomous underwater vehicles. At Memorial, he was the lead operator and engineer for a large survey AUV, conducting habitat survey, hydrodynamic studies, and development of vehicle autonomy and advanced navigation. Under the Antarctic Gateway Partnership project, Peter has come to Tasmania to help bring online, a new polar capable AUV for polar research in Antarctica.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum, LHS Members, and Students

Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organization of this event

RSVP by Thursday 25th August 2016:

Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

The Buildings of Our Small Universe, Dr Eric Ratcliff, 24 July, 2016

Northern July Lecture presented by Dr Eric Ratcliff — Firm, Famous, Fragile or Forgotten: The Buildings of Our Small Universe — in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 1.30 pm Sunday 24th July 2016

Firm, Famous, Fragile or Forgotten: The Buildings of Our Small Universe
The Royal Society of Tasmania invites members to attend a lecture presented by Dr Eric Ratcliff — in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 1.30 pm Sunday 24th July 2016

Centuries rarely start and end on time. Van Diemen’s Land was settled during that hangover of the eighteenth century called the Regency, and in some important ways the nineteenth century did not end until the Great War. A lifelong examination of buildings in Tasmania led to the recognition that all the important transitions in style and construction that took place in the English-speaking world between the reigns of George III and George V have been reflected in Tasmania, and that became the subject of ‘A Far Microcosm’. To give an adequate account of the subject, it is necessary to consider buildings that no longer exist. As an example, a subject of recent study has been Roxburgh House in Hobart, long infamous as ‘Rats’ Castle’ and decades after it disappeared, made into a powerful and universal symbol by the artist Blamire Young.

Dr Eric Ratcliff was born in Launceston in 1938, completed secondary education at Launceston High School and graduated M.B.,B.S. from University of Queensland in 1964. He qualified as a consultant psychiatrist in 1976 and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1981. He was a long-serving General Councillor of the College, chaired a number of bi-national committees, and was awarded the College Medal of Honour in 2006. He has served a number of terms as Chair of the Northern Branch of the Royal Society. In addition to continuing psychiatric and medico-legal practice in Launceston, he is a recognised architectural historian, and has published on aspects of nineteenth century architecture and design in Tasmania and in England and on hospital and medical history in Tasmania. He was honoured with the O.A.M. in 2004 for services to psychiatry and architectural conservation.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students

Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organisation of this event

RSVP by Thursday 21st July 2016 via email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Professor Nicholas King presents The Enthusiastic Immune System: Curbing Nature’s Oldest Attack Dogs without Forgoing their Protection — Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk — 1.30 pm Sunday 26th June 2016

The Royal Society of Tasmania — 2016 Launceston Lecture Series

Professor Nicholas King

M.B. Ch.B., Ph.D., FRCPA (Hon)

Professor and Head of Immunopathology, Discipline of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences USYD will present

The Enthusiastic Immune System: Curbing Nature’s Oldest Attack Dogs without Forgoing their Protection
in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk — 1.30 pm Sunday 26th June 2016

Once infected by virus, nerve cells of the brain will attract large numbers of white blood cells to clear the infection. Among these, a primitive group known as monocytes, newly minted by the bone marrow, causes inflammation that amplifies the immune response. However, this behaviour can also cause lethal damage. In a novel therapeutic strategy, we have used immune modifying nanoparticles to modulate monocyte migration and function, to reduce inflammation, increase healing and enable survival, not just in viral infection of the brain, but in a range of other diseases in which inflammation is excessive.

Prof. Nicholas King, as Professor of Immunopathology, heads the Discipline of Pathology and is Founding Director of the Advanced Cytometry Core Facility at the University of Sydney. He holds both Medical and PhD degrees and runs a research group that investigates how the immune response causes damage during neurotropic mosquito-borne virus infections, publishing widely on the subject over more than 30 years. He has been President of the Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania and is currently on the Executive Council of the International Union of Immunological Societies. He holds a Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award and was awarded honorary membership of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students

Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organisation of this event

RSVP by Thursday 23rd June 2016:

Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Dr Nigel Swarts, Research Fellow, UTAS, Research Consultant, Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens presents Terrestrial Orchid Conservation and Research: A Tasmanian Perspective — Sunday 22nd May, 1.30pm Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk.

Tasmania has a rich orchid flora reliant on important above and below ground ecological interactions for growth and survival. Due to the high specificity of these interactions and the changes imposed on Tasmania’s landscape through anthropogenic activities, many of Tasmania’s orchids are endangered and threatened with extinction. 214 native orchids have been recorded in Tasmania and of these, 68 are listed as threatened on Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act and 32 are listed on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act. At the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens, we are undertaking research to determine why these species are threatened and how best to conserve them using key features of their complicated biology and ecology.

Dr Nigel Swarts is a Research Fellow in the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tasmania and a research consultant hosted by the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Nigel has a background in Conservation Biology with research focusing on rare and endangered orchids from across Australia. He has a strong track record in the field of orchid conservation with two highly cited review articles. He completed his PhD with distinction on the conservation of critically endangered orchids with the University of Western Australia in 2008. Nigel’s research has led to a better understanding of the role of mycorrhizal specialization in the ecology and rarity of the Orchidaceae.

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students.

Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania.

To assist us with the organisation of this event please RSVP by Thursday 21st April 2016 to either bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Dr Nicholas Chantler PhD, AM, Major – Australian Army Intelligence Corps – Retired 2015 will present Bee Bop a Lula, She’s My Honey in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 1.30 pm Sunday 24th April 2016

We have known a lot about the European honey bee for a very long time; but with advances in technology we discover even more. The importance of this humble insect becomes even more significant when we consider the threats to its existence and the impact of losing it can have on us. This presentation gives a plethora of interesting facts with recent developments and discoveries about bees and beekeeping. The products of the hive; understanding the colony; breeding queen bees; pollination and productivity; a world-scale perspective on bees; current reports in the news; advances in medical science; the threats to bees; and the application of technology, are all considered.

Dr Nicholas Chantler has a background which encompasses agriculture; education and academia; and, military intelligence and the corporate environments. His formal education in entomology was at the University of Queensland as part of his Bachelor of Science degree. In 2010 Nicholas was honoured for his work, particularly as an educator, being made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). He retired from Queensland University of Technology and the Army last-year. Having held a life-long interest in the biological sciences whilst working in his professional careers, he now has the time to dedicate to his special interest of breeding and rearing Queen Bees. In 2015 he was appointed to the Australian HoneyBee Industry Council’s B-QUAL board, which deals with certification and food standards for honey producers.
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students

Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organisation of this event

RSVP by Thursday 21st April 2016:

Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798