The Royal Society of Tasmania

The advancement of knowledge

Dr Alison Alexander – May lecture at QVMAG

2019 Launceston Lecture series

 

The Royal Society of Tasmania

INVITES YOU TO

 

Jane Franklin – the Real Founder of the Royal Society of Tasmania

A PUBLIC LECTURE BY

   Dr. Alison Alexander

Sunday 26 May 2019, 1.30 pm
Meeting Room, QVMAG, Inveresk

 

admission free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania
$6   general admission
$4    for students, QVMAG Friends, and members of Launceston Historical Society

 

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Various people have desired to gain kudos from establishing themselves as the founder of the Royal Society of Tasmania, notably Governor Eardley Wilmot. Alison will argue that Jane Franklin was the real founder, though as a woman with no official status she had to work behind the scenes.

Born and educated in Tasmania, Dr. Alexander has written thirty-three books about Tasmanian history. Her paid career was writing commissioned histories, including Launceston Church Grammar School and the Australian Maritime College. The subjects of her biographies range from romantic writer Marie Bjelke-Petersen to governor’s wife Jane Franklin, this book winning the National Biography Award in 2014. Duck and green peas! Forever! Finding Utopia in Tasmania (2018) is her most recent book.

 

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.