Newsletter June – July 2025

Dear RST members,
For a relatively small Society, we seem to achieve a great deal – something of which we can all be proud. As you read through this edition of the Newsletter, I hope that you will share my appreciation for the many ways in which the Royal Society of Tasmania continues to contribute to the cultural and intellectual life of our state.

We maintain a vibrant program of lectures in both the north and south of Tasmania, bringing fascinating research and fresh ideas to our members and the wider public. Our awards continue to recognise excellence in scholarship, while our bursaries provide much -needed support to school students keen to pursue their studies in the sciences. These are investments not only in individuals, but in Tasmania’s future.
Our commitment to heritage is equally strong. Conservation work of the Society’s historic Art Collection is
progressing steadily – ensuring that these remarkable pieces are preserved and shared with future generations.

At the same time, we continue to publish new scholarly texts while sustaining our longstanding tradition of excellence through the Papers and Proceedings. Please see our wonderful new book, A World Apart, on the RST Art Collection advertised on p. 2 with an excellent discount for RST Members only.
I could go on, but I’ll let the following pages speak for themselves. Thank you for your ongoing
support and engagement with the work of the Society.

The members of the Society wish to congratulate Past President of the RST, Mary Koolhof OAM (pictured here), on being awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours List for her service to education, and to the Royal Society of Tasmania. See p. 7 for more detail. A very significant evening was held on 18 June at Government House where Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, Governor or Tasmania honoured and celebrated the academic achievements of 2024 RST medal winners. See p. 13 for fuller information and photos of the event.

I welcome our new members since the last edition: Caroline Rowell, David Rowell, Professor Helen Phillips, Anthony Rigby, Paul Mahony, Mark Geeves, Anthony Ellis, Amanda Wojtowicz and Dr Trudi Curtis.

We do need your help. The Society runs on a shoestring budget and relies almost entirely on some twenty volunteer Councillors and Northern Branch Committee members giving generously of their time to keep the Society functioning: running the office, managing the finances, membership, recordkeeping, website, newsletter, lectures, functions, awards, bursaries, Papers and Proceedings, collections and much more. They do this because they see great value in the Society, its remarkable history and its very important place in the current world.

If you could see your way to making a donation (tax deductible when used for the Art or Library Collections), it would be much valued and greatly appreciated. Any funds would be used to improve the Society’s current offering to members, streamline its administrative processes and maintenance of the Collections. Please note that it is against Society rules for volunteer officers to receive any financial reward.

Please think of us at this time of the year and, of course, encourage anyone you know to think about joining the Society.

With sincere thanks and good wishes,

Julie Rimes,

RST President
President’s Message