The Royal Society of Tasmania invites all members and supporters to the Annual General Meeting and a lecture by Professor Stefan Petrow at 4 pm on Monday 6 March 2023. Professor Petrow is the winner of the RST Clive Lord Memorial Medal.
The meeting and lecture will be at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay. Please register using this link . Eventbrite registrations close at 3 pm on Sunday 5 March. The lecture will be recorded but not live-streamed.
Admission is free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania. Non-members are welcome and donations are appreciated through our website or at the door. Suggested donation is $6; $4 for students and Friends of TMAG.
Annual General Meeting
- Election of 2023 Office Bearers
- Approval of a Rule change
- Presentation of the 2022 Annual Report
Lecture
“A very great idea? Acclimatisation in Tasmania, 1862 – 1895”
This lecture focuses on Tasmania’s acclimatization experience with British animals and birds, with particular reference to the activities of the relatively unstudied Tasmanian Acclimatisation Society formed in 1862. Acclimatisers were motivated to introduce birds like pheasants, partridges and quail and animals like rabbits, hares and deer for game hunting and hares for the sport of coursing. Birds like sparrows and starlings were introduced for the familiarity of their songs and for their insect killing abilities.
When introduced animals and birds reacted in unpredictable ways, they demonstrated the limits of scientific knowledge, how adaptable they were and how vulnerable native species and the Tasmanian landscape were to the new arrivals. The lecture ends by outlining a range of critical assessments of acclimatisation’s impact by the 1890s.
Our speaker Emeritus Professor Stefan Petrow taught Australian, Tasmanian, European and family history at the University of Tasmania until his retirement in June 2020. His research interests include all aspects of Tasmanian history, but he has had a longstanding focus on legal history, cultural history and health, urban and town planning history of Hobart and Launceston. His books include Sanatorium of the South? Public Health and Politics in Hobart and Launceston 1875-1914 (1995) and (with Carey Denholm) Dr. Edward Swarbreck Hall: Colonial Medical Scientist and Moral Activist (2016). His most recent book to be published in March 2023 is Look After The Missus and Kids: A History of Hobart Legacy 1923-2023. He has completed a book manuscript called Tasmanian Anzacs, Families and The Impact of World War One: Volume 1: The 12th and 52nd Battalions.
Professor Petrow will be presented with the RST Clive Lord Memorial Medal for his outstanding research on Tasmanian history.
Refreshments
Please stay for tea, coffee and snacks after the lecture.
