The Northern Branch of The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to our public lecture by Lynette Ross on 27 April 2025, in the Meeting Room, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) at Inveresk, Launceston.

All RST members, their guests, and the public are welcome.

Admission:

• free for RST members and children under 12.
• $7 for the general public, QVMAG or TMAG Friends, and members of the Launceston Historical Society
• $5 for students.

When: 1:30 pm Sunday 27 April 2025.

Where: Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk.

To download a printable flyer, click here.

Northern Tasmania’s attempts to house vice-regal personages ranged from Paterson’s early prefabricated buildings at Outer Cove and York Town to the modest cottage in Launceston. By 1885 this building was so dilapidated it was demolished and the land incorporated into today’s City Park. This lecture not only reveals the history of the official Government residence, but also throws light on such facets as its symbolism and cultural significance.

Lynette undertook a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in History and Archaeology at UTas in conjunction with University of New England. Her Honours degree featured a thesis on convict death at Port Arthur which led to a re-interpretation of the Isle of the Dead.

Past employment includes working as Heritage Officer at the Port Arthur Historic Site, positions at UTas, coordinator of operations at the historic Saumarez Homestead in NSW and operating as a private contractor. Her special interest is the history and archaeology of Australia’s colonial period. She has recently had her book on the history of Launceston’s Government Cottage published.

Source of post image: Examiner newspaper.

Generously supported by

The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to its April 2025 Public Lecture by guest speaker Dr Robert Johnson. All RST members, their guests, and the public are welcome.

Please register your interest using this link.

Where: Geology Lecture Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay Campus on Sunday 6 April, 2024.

Time: 3.30pm for pre-lecture drinks, 4pm for the lecture.

A reminder that this will be the first Sunday following the time change to mark the end of Daylight Savings. I know it threw a few attendees last year.

Can artificial intelligence outsmart Mother Nature? From supercomputers crunching vast climate data to neural networks refining forecasts in real time, AI is transforming the way we predict the weather. But how does it work, and can it really make forecasts more reliable? Join us for a fascinating dive into the future of meteorology, where machine learning meets the atmosphere to shape tomorrow’s forecasts.

Every day, weather forecasts shape our decisions – from what we wear to how we prepare for extreme weather events. But where do these forecasts come from? This talk will take you behind the scenes of modern weather prediction, showing how we combine multiple global weather models into a single, more accurate national forecast for Australia. We’ll explore how AI and machine learning are quietly improving the forecasts you rely on – especially for rainfall predictions – and why uncertainty is an essential part of predicting the future.

Dr. Rob Johnson is a senior research scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology, where he leads the Forecast Improvement Research Team. His work focuses on improving weather forecast accuracy through model post-processing, nowcasting, and integrating advanced AI and machine learning techniques into operational meteorology. He recently led the implementation of Australia’s first AI-driven public weather forecasting system, replacing traditional statistical methods and enhancing the way forecasts are produced and communicated to millions of Australians.

WHAT’S UP PUFFERFISH?!

Detective Inspector Franz Heineken and the mysterious Danish connection

The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to its March 2025 public lecture in Hobart by guest speaker and Tasmanian author David Owen. All RST members, their guests, and the public are welcome.

This event is hosted by The Royal Society of Tasmania to celebrate Tasmania Reads 2025.

Where: Royal Society of Tasmania Lecture Room, Customs House, 19 Davey St, Hobart on Wednesday 26 March, 2025, for the talk.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Click here to register as seating is limited.

David will speak about three forthcoming novels in this popular Fullers Publishing detective series. Set in Tasmania, this is Australia’s longest-running police procedural series: cunning island crimes which ultimately are no match for the unhurried but razor-sharp Detective Inspector, Tassie’s longtime Dutch import. The Pufferfish novels are fast-paced with a literary touch, taking the reader all over the Island State and often beyond.

David is the author of 19 books of fiction and nonfiction, including updated new editions in the Allen & Unwin natural history series – Tasmanian Tiger: The tragic story of the thylacine, and Tasmanian Devil: A deadly tale of survival, both co-authored with David Pemberton. In 2021 he co-authored with Kate Warner AC, former Governor of Tasmania, the two-volume Government House Tasmania: A Remarkable Story.

Dr Hanne Nielsen is known for her research on representations of Antarctica in culture and the arts, particularly in literature and media. She has a background in Antarctic Studies and has explored how Antarctica is depicted in various narratives, focusing on the intersection of polar history, gender, and cultural studies.

Dr Nielsen has also been an advocate for women in Antarctic research, highlighting the roles of women in polar expeditions and science. Her work contributes to understanding how perceptions of Antarctica have shaped public and scientific discourses, especially in relation to environmental change and geopolitics.

Dr. Mel Fitzpatrick has been at the forefront of climate science, activism, and education since Australia’s commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. Over the decades, Mel has witnessed firsthand how disinformation, denial, and deception have obstructed progress on climate action, both within Australia and globally.

In this talk, Mel sheds light on the key players behind these efforts, their tactics, and how we can better inoculate ourselves and others from the pervasive disinformation that threatens meaningful change.