Maatsuyker Island is home to Australia’s most southerly lighthouse. Set high on the south end of the island, the lighthouse opened in 1891 and guided ships around Tasmania’s Southwest Cape for over one hundred years before an automatic light was installed in 1996. Maatsuyker is 10 kilometres offshore from the southwest corner of Tasmania making it one of the most remote lighthouses in Australia. The magnificent lighthouse and the three keeper’s residences still stand today on this lonely outpost. Today, in order to preserve the historical, cultural and natural values Maatsuyker Island is manned year-round by adventurous volunteers who accept the isolation and hard work of the island for 6 months at a time. Come join former caretakers, Marina Campbell and Gary Miller, for an evening about one of Australia’s most isolated lighthouses and the beautiful and surprisingly pristine island. Marina and Gary would like to share with you their experiences with the island, the work, the wildlife and most of all the lighthouse.
Congratulations Dr Margaret Davies OAM
‘The Royal Society of Tasmania extends warm congratulations to Dr Margaret Davies OAM who was inducted on to the 2015 Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women. For details, see: http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/csrt/programs_and_services/tasmanian_honour_roll_of_women
Variations of Nutrient Trace Elements in the Past Oceans Provides a New Explanation for Major Extinction Events – Professor Ross Large – 26 April 2015
The Royal Society of Tasmania – 2015 Launceston Lecture Series
Professor Ross Large
Distinguished Professor of Geology, UTAS
will present
Variations of Nutrient Trace Elements in the Past Oceans Provides a New Explanation for Major Extinction Events
in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
2.00 pm Sunday 26th April 2015
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 organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 23rd April 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
Availability of nutrients in the ocean is a major factor affecting marine life, burial of carbon and release of oxygen. However, the nutrient trace element (TE) composition of the paleo-ocean cannot be measured directly and is therefore poorly understood. In this talk I present a comprehensive global dataset on the TE content of marine sedimentary pyrite in black shales, dating back 700 million years. The data demonstrate that variations in continental uplift and erosion created a series of nutrient cycles that controlled evolution in the oceans and oxygen in the atmosphere. The cyclic patterns reveal periods of nutrient-rich oceans of 30 to 60 million years duration, followed by nutrient-poor oceans of 10 to 40 million years duration that account for several major mass extinction events.
Professor Ross Large is a Distinguished Professor of Geology at the University of Tasmania. He gained his BSc (Hons) from the University of Tasmania in 1969 and PhD from University of New England in
1973. For ten years Ross worked in mineral exploration in Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania. In 1984 he joined the University of Tasmania, and five years later established the Centre for Ore
Deposit and Exploration Science (CODES). Under his leadership CODES has grown to become recognized as one of the top industry collaborative ore deposit research centres in the world. Ross has over
100 publications in international journals and has gained a number of international awards for his research. His current research interests are sediment-hosted gold deposits and evolution of the chemistry
of the oceans.
The Portraits of Captain James Cook – Mr Paul Brunton OAM FAHA – 22 March 2015
Paul Brunton OAM, FAHA Emeritus Curator, State Library of NSW, Honorary Associate of the School of Philosophy and Historical Inquiry,
University of Sydney will present The Portraits of Captain James Cook in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 2.00pm Sunday 22nd March 2015
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 organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 19th March 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
There are only six authentic extant portraits of Captain James Cook (1728-1779) in the world, of which three are by the same artist, John Webber (1751-1793). Webber was the official artist on Cook’s third and last voyage. Three of these six portraits were unknown until after 1960 including both the portraits in Australia which are the first and last portraits of Cook to be painted. The stories of these contemporary portraits and the images of the great explorer made after his death give an insight into the man and the making of his legend. They helped create the legend of a man who selflessly died so that others might live, a great British hero but one of science not of war.
Paul Brunton, OAM, FAHA, is Emeritus Curator of the State Library of New South Wales, and Honorary Associate of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, University of Sydney. He was Senior
Curator, Mitchell Library, from 2002 to 2012 and Curator of Manuscripts from 1986 to 2000. He has a special interest in the European discoveries in the Pacific and was responsible for the acquisition of
a number of significant manuscripts and printed books on this subject for the Mitchell Library. His publications include Matthew Flinders: personal letters from an extraordinary life (2002).
Congratulations Professor Emily Hilder!
Professor Emily Hilder, Vice President of The Royal Society of Tasmania, is one of only three Australian academics to be recognised in the Analytical Scientist magazine’s inaugural Top 40 Under 40 listing. The international compilation honours the next generation of up and coming scientists: those who are pioneering new research innovations across the sciences.
Professor Hilder is the head of Chemistry within the School of Physical Sciences and a Professor in ACROSS in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology. She is also Director of ARC (Australian Research Council) Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation Technologies.
Read more:
http://www.media.utas.edu.au/general-news/all-news/chemistry-researchers-receive-global-acclaim
“Global Hunger and Malnutrition: A practical Tasmanian ‘food plant’ solution.” – Dr John Thorne & Ian Geard – Wednesday April 8 2015 8.00 pm
Almost 900 million people today are chronically hungry. They will be just as hungry tomorrow. Most are women and children though many small scale farmers are also hungry. The current broad approaches to global hunger and malnutrition are clearly not working – the numbers are increasing daily. These same people are also chronically malnourished due to a lack of essential micronutrients, particularly iron, vitamin A, folate, zinc and iodine. Typical (well advertised) solutions currently being used tend to create dependence rather than self-reliance.
Front line agriculturalists are again focussing on the forgotten and local food plants of the world. These can deliver the benefits of healthy diets, resilient food systems, lower food prices and great availability of food, particularly to those in need. In other words there is a solution that is local and sustainable.
“Food Plant Solutions” is based on an enviable and huge data-base created by Tasmanian agricultural scientist, Bruce French and made freely available to the world-wide organisation of volunteers, Rotary International. The data-base contains comprehensive information on at least 27,000 edible plants for all countries of the world. Food plants that are well adapted and thrive in a particular region or country and contain the highest levels of key nutrients can be readily identified from the data-base. A global group of economists at the Copenhagen Consensus Centre supported the United Nations and others who maintain that the most cost-effective way to use the ‘development’ dollar is by reducing malnutrition.
Two former Vice-Presidents of the Royal Society of Tasmania, Ian Geard and Dr John Thorne, will illustrate how the ready union of knowledge from the Tasmanian data-base combined with a variety of global volunteers is making a difference in at least 28 countries where hunger and malnutrition is a challenge. “Food Plant Solutions” enhances the ability of local groups to make a difference.
Ian Geard was a senior agricultural scientist in Tasmania including his role as Chief Quarantine Officer. He has been engaged by the United Nations Development Program, the FAO/World Bank, the European Union and the Australian Assistance Bureau to visit and advise on a wide variety of food and plant programs, mainly in Asia. Dr John Thorne is the only Tasmanian to have served on the International Board for Rotary – a global volunteer service organisation with 1.2 million active members in about 200 regions or countries. He is the Foundation Chairman of the Rotarian Action Group – Food Plant Solutions. Ian and John recently visited China together to cement relations with a charitable Foundation giving access to the 100 million ethnic minorities there who are seriously challenged with malnutrition and often with hunger. The group also has clear access to help the hungry in the DPRK (North Korea).
Royal Society Room,
Customs House Building, TMAG,
19 Davey St. Hobart (entry from Dunn Place) 8.00 pm
• All interested people welcome
• Admission is free
3rd March Prof. Matt King – Continental loss: The quest to determine Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level change
The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to attend a special lecture by Prof. Matt King
Continental loss:The quest to determine Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level change
Tuesday 3 March, 8.00 pm
Royal Society Room,
Customs House Building, TMAG,
19 Davey St. Hobart (entry from Dunn Place)
• All interested people welcome
• Admission is free
Prof. King is the 2015 recipient of the prestigious Kavli Medal awarded by The Royal Society of London for his work that contributed to the first reconciled estimate of Antarctica and Greenland’s contribution to sea-‐level change.
Summary:
For over 50 years scientists have been working to understand Antarctica’s contribution to sea level. For much of this time there has been disagreement about if this massive ice sheet is even growing or shrinking. In 2012, advances in data analysis and computer modelling resulted in the first reconciled estimate of change being achieved. This showed that Antarctica is increasingly contributing to sea-level rise. During this lecture I will explain some of the major advances that led to this reconciled estimate and highlight some of the fascinating things we can learn about Earth from the vantage-point of Antarctica; these take us from hundreds of miles above Earth’s surface to hundreds of miles below, and from present-day ice sheet changes to those that happened 20,000 years ago.
Bio:
Matt King grew up in Burnie before moving with his family to Hobart in 1988. During 1992-1996 he undertook a Bachelor of Surveying at the University of Tasmania, a time that included a year working in mines on Tasmania’s West Coast. He then shifted focus to Antarctica, undertaking a PhD quantifying changes in the motion of a large floating Antarctic ice shelf using surveying data. In 2001 he moved to the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, where he researched GPS positioning and its application to understanding glacier dynamics, Earth deformation and Antarctica’s contribution to recent sea-level change. He has travelled to both Antarctica and Greenland and published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, including several in the leading journals Science and Nature. In late 2012 he returned to the University of Tasmania where he is based in the School of Land and Food as Professor of Polar Geodesy and ARC Future Fellow. In April he will travel to the Royal Society (London) to receive the 2015 Kavli Medal and Lecture which is awarded every two years for excellence in all fields of science and engineering relevant to the environment or energy, and particularly for his work that contributed to the first reconciled estimate of Antarctica and Greenland’s contribution to sea-level change.
The Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania: 1853-1953 – Mr Solomon Walker-Bowd – 22 February 2015
The Royal Society of Tasmania – 2015 Launceston Lecture Series
Solomon Walker-Bowd BA (Hons), UTAS will present The Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania: 1853-1953 in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 2.00 pm Sunday 22nd February 2015
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 organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 19th February 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
The Royal Society for the Advancement of Science, formed by royal charter in 1662, was the pre-eminent scientific body of the British Empire. The first branch to be founded outside Britain was formed in Hobart in 1843 and has been the subject of considerable scholarship. However, little has been written about the two incarnations of the Royal Society that were formed in Launceston. A “Northern Branch” was first attempted in 1853, yet this body was defunct by 1860. The Branch was later re-formed in 1921 and continues to the present day. This presentation will examine the first century of the Northern Branch, from 1853 to 1953. It will be argued that the re-formed Northern Branch in particular served as a focal point for Launceston’s progressively-minded and intellectual classes to congregate and discuss scientific and historical matters, as well as coordinate the social and intellectual uplift of the city. In this way, the Northern Branch has served as both a barometer of Launceston’s intellectual growth and a facilitator of future development.
Solomon Walker-Bowd is a postgraduate student at the University of Tasmania, currently completing a Masters of Teaching. He was a co-winner of the Malcolm McRae Honours Scholarship for History in 2012, and
graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2013 with First Class Honours in History. Solomon’s Honours thesis focused on the first century of the Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania, unearthing
considerable information about the Branch – now Chapter – previously overlooked by historians. The wealth of available material leaves potential for him to consider a PhD thesis sometime in the future.
The Royal Society of Tasmania Library, 1845- – Mr Andrew Parsons – 23 November 2014
The Royal Society of Tasmania – 2014 Launceston Lecture Series
Andrew Parsons will present The Royal Society of Tasmania Library, 1845- in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk at 2.00pm Sunday 23rd November 2014
Admission: $5 General Public, $3 Friends of the Museum, $2 Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 20th November 2014:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
Andrew Parsons served as Honorary Librarian to the Royal Society of Tasmania from 2010 to 2013. Drawing on material from The Society’s new publication, The Library at the End of the World, he will take listeners through the history of the Library, from its earliest days as a fledgling colonial library right up to the digital age. He will draw on his own experiences, as well as the knowledge of others intimately involved with the library and The Society’s latest publication. Andrew will look at all aspects of The Society’s library operations and collections, including rare books, journals, and digital content.
Andrew Parsons worked at the AMC and UTAS libraries, Launceston and Hobart, from 1996 through to early 2013. From 2010 to 2013, he managed UTAS Library’s special and rare collections; as part of
this role he served as Hon. Librarian to the Society. During his time in this role, he oversaw the continuation of digitising of the Society’s archives and ‘Papers & Proceedings’, as well as the completion of
the cataloguing and reorganisation of the Society’s serials collection.
In February 2013, he took up the position of Library Coordinator at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, where he revived the Society’s Northern library collection. Andrew served on the Society’s Council from 2010-13, and is presently a member of the Management Committee of the Northern Chapter (2013-)
Walking from Hobart to Launceston with Dr Pugh in 1836 – Dr John Paull – Christmas Dinner Lecture – Tuesday 2 December 6.00 pm
Christmas Dinner and Lecture
Tuesday 2 December 6.00 pm at the CSIRO Lecture Theatre, Castray Esplanade, Hobart
Starting at the much earlier time of 6.00 pm for the lecture followed by a two course Buffet meal at 7.30 pm. Wine and beer will be available for purchase at the venue, which is licensed. BYO is not permitted.
RSVP is Essential by 21 November 2013. The price is $40.00 per person. It is possible to attend the lecture and not the dinner but RSVP is still required .
For security purposes we require names and addresses for all attending. Those with special dietary requirements should contact the office.
After a four month voyage from England 29 year old William Russ Pugh arrived in Hobart on December 10 1835. Failing to secure a position as a doctor and having his offer of marriage to Cornelia Kerton, a fellow passenger rejected, he re-embarked on the Derwent for Sydney, only to discover the same situation pertained. Returning to Hobart the Derwent arrived on January 31 1836. Pugh resolved to walk “to the North” seeking employment prospects and perhaps a second chance to secure a wife. He and a companion left Hobart on February 6 1836 and four weeks later Pugh arrived in Launceston. The travellers stayed at a number of homesteads on the way, one of them still owned by the same family which welcomed Pugh on his journey.
In this lecture, based on extracts from Pugh’s diary published in the Illustrated Tasmanian News of December 6 1934 John will describe the settlers they stayed with on the journey and the interesting propositions put to Pugh. At almost every lodging Pugh was presented with a choice of career to pursue – medicine or mutton. Fortunately for Launceston, and for Australian anaesthesia, he chose to set up a doctor’s practice. The talk will provide a new view of the Midland highway for the current traveller.
Dr John Paull, MB, BS, Dip Ed, FANZCA.
After an exciting career in clinical anaesthesia, administration, teaching and anaesthesia research for over 35 years, John retired in 2007. He has authored more than seventy peer reviewed scientific papers and written a number of book chapters for anaesthesia texts. He has held senior positions in Government boards of enquiry and professional bodies. Since 2005 he has been endeavouring to discover more of the real Launceston doctor, William Russ Pugh, his innovations, his triumphs and tragedies. Not just the first doctor in Australia to offer ether anaesthesia to surgical patients, but an active scientist and supporter of local good causes Pugh set an example to his colleagues but attracted vicious professional jealousy. He was a founding member of the Royal Society of Tasmania.
After eight years research John has unearthed many interesting and controversial aspects of Pugh’s career and has now completed Pugh’s biography ‘Not Just an Anaesthetist: the remarkable life of Dr William Russ Pugh MD’, revealing the life and times of Pugh and his wife Cornelia in the bustling mid nineteenth century Launceston.
John has an appointment in the School of Humanities at the University of Tasmania as a University Associate and is the Immediate Past President of the Northern Chapter of the Royal Society of Tasmania. He is currently the Honorary Archivist of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.
