Nth Branch Lectures

My Life in Slime

The Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Branch, invites you to a public lecture entitled “My Life in Slime” on Sunday September 26, 2021, at 1.30pm, by Sarah Lloyd OAM.

You may, if you wish, attend the lecture in person at the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk, No prior registration or notification is necessary. Normal COVID rules will apply.

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

Alternatively, you may 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.

‘My Life in Slime’ will outline the life cycle of slime moulds (myxomycetes) and describe why the several completely different stages of development have confused scientists and naturalists for centuries. It will also describe the process of collecting and storing slime mould fruiting bodies and the difficulties identifying some of the 120 different species found so far in northern Tasmania.

Sarah Lloyd is a naturalist, writer and photographer who has written extensively about all aspects of Tasmania’s natural history, especially birds. Ten years after starting her study of slime moulds in the forest that surrounds her home, Sarah presented her work at a February 2020 conference in Costa Rica where participants were eager to learn about species found in Tasmania.

Generously supported by

East meets West

The Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Branch, and the Geological Society of Tasmania, invite you to a public lecture entitled “East meets West: the Geological Development of Northern Tasmania” on Sunday September 12, 2021, at 1.30pm, by Associate Professor Sebastien Meffre.

You may, if you wish, attend the lecture in person at the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk, No prior registration or notification is necessary.

Admission is free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania. The charge is $4 for students, QVMAG Friends, and members of Launceston Historical Society. General admission is $6.

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

Western and eastern Tasmania not only have contrasting rainfall and vegetation, but also have dramatically different geology. Each of the two parts of the island formed in different places at different times and came together in the Tabberabberan Orogeny, 400 million years ago. This lecture explores the contrasting geological events that have shaped the island.

Associate Professor Meffre is the head of Earth Sciences at the University of Tasmania. His current research interests include improving techniques for dating rocks, analysing gold from ore deposits, investigating contamination in Tasmanian rivers, and understanding the plate tectonic processes that have shaped the SW Pacific, SE Australia, and SE Asia.

Generously supported by

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.