Royal Society of South Australia
The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in relation to natural sciences. The society was originally the Adelaide Philosophical Society, founded on 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by Queen Victoria in October 1880 and the society changed its name to its present name at this time. It was incorporated in 1883. It also operates under the banner Science South Australia.
History[]
The origins of the Royal Society are related to the South Australian Literary and Scientific Association, founded in August 1834, before the colonisation of South Australia, and whose book collection eventually formed the kernel of the State Library of South Australia.[1]
The Society had its origins in a meeting at the Stephens Place home of J. L. Young (founder of the Adelaide Educational Institution) on the evening of 10 January 1853. Members inducted to the new "Adelaide Philosophical Society" were Messrs. John Brown, John Howard Clark, Davy, Doswell, Charles Gregory Feinaigle, Gilbert, Gosse, Hamilton, Hammond, W. B. Hays, Jones, Kay, Mann, , Williams, Wooldridge and John Lorenzo Young.[2] J. Howard Clark was elected secretary. On 15 September rules were adopted and His Excellency the Governor Sir Henry Young was elected president.[3] T. D. Smeaton has also been credited with helping found the Society.[4] Its aim was "the diffusion and advancement of the Arts and Sciences", and one of its earliest subjects of discussion was the formation of a museum showing the natural history of the Colony.[1]
At the time of its first Annual General Meeting membership had risen to 35,[5] and in 1859 the Society was incorporated under the South Australian Institute Act. The establishment of the University of Adelaide in 1875 revitalised the Society, which had flagged for some years before.[1]
It received royal patronage, becoming the Royal Society of South Australia late in 1880,[6][1] following the nomenclature used in other Australian colonies, and perhaps hoping to emulate their success.[7]
The Field Naturalists Society of South Australia was formed as a section of the Society in 1883.[8]
Membership[]
There are five classes of members:[9]
- Honorary Fellows
- Sustaining Fellows
- Fellows
- Associate Fellows
- Student Fellows
Awards and medals[]
The society awards:[10]
- The Verco Medal
- The Publication Medal
- The Royal Society of South Australia Postgraduate Student Prize
- The H. G. Andrewartha Medal
Publications[]
The RSSA has published the journal Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia since 1879, previously (from 1877–1878) Transactions and proceedings and report of the Philosophical Society of Adelaide.[11] From 2004, the journal partnered with the South Australian Museum in the Southern Scientific Press, amalgamating their two journals.[12] From 2005, the journal has been available in electronic form only, via Taylor & Francis Online.[11]
In June 2020 an annotated list of 95 Australian bird fossils was published in the Transactions, the first such list since 1975, contributing to the documented knowledge of bird extinctions. The list includes three species of huge flamingos from the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Lake Frome areas of South Australia, which were estimated to inhabit the area for 25 million years before becoming extinct about 140,000 years ago, most likely from drought. There were also penguins measuring about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall, which lived between about 60 million and 30 million years ago, dying out in the Oligocene.[13][14][15]
List of presidents[]
Royal Society of South Australia Presidents:[16]
Term | Name |
---|---|
1853–1854 | Sir Henry Young |
1855 | Benjamin Babbage |
1856–1861 | Sir Richard MacDonnell |
1862–1868 | Sir Dominick Daly |
1869–1872 | James Ferguson |
1877 | Sir William Jervois |
1878–1879 | Ralph Tate |
1880–1881 | Sir Samuel Way |
1882 | Sir Charles Todd |
1883 | H. T. Whittell |
1884 | Sir Horace Lamb |
1885 | Henry Mais [17] |
1886–1889 | Edward Rennie |
1889 | Sir Edward Stirling |
1890–1891 | Thomas Blackburn [18] |
1892–1894 | Ralph Tate (2nd term) |
1895–1896 | Walter Howchin |
1897–1899 | William Lennox Cleland |
1900–1903 | Edward Rennie (2nd term) |
1903–1921 | Sir Joseph Verco |
1921 | Richard Sanders Rogers [19] |
1922–1924 | Robert Pulleine [20] |
1925 | Sir Douglas Mawson |
1926 | Theodore Osborn |
1927 | Frederic Wood Jones |
1927–1928 | Sir John Cleland |
1929–1930 | Leonard Keith Ward |
1931 | Charles Fenner [21] |
1932 | Thomas Harvey Johnston [22] |
1933 | James Arthur Prescott |
1934 | John McConnell Black |
1935 | [23] |
1936 | Cecil Madigan |
1937 | [24] |
1938 | [25][26] |
1939 | Henry Fry |
1940 | |
1941 | Sir John Cleland (2nd term) |
1942 | Joseph Garnett Wood |
1943 | [27] |
1944 | Herbert Womersley [28] |
1945 | Sir Douglas Mawson (2nd term) |
1946 | [29] |
1947 | [30] |
1948 | |
1949 | Norman Tindale [31] |
1950 | |
1951 | Bernard Charles Cotton |
1952 | H. G. Andrewartha [32] |
1953 | |
1954 | |
1955 | R. V. Southcott |
1956 | |
1957 | |
1958 | |
1959–1960 | T. R. N. Lothian |
1961 | R. V. Southcott (2nd term) |
1962 | Nelly Hooper Ludbrook |
1963 | |
1964 | |
1965 | |
1966 | |
1967 | |
1968 | |
1969 | |
1970 | |
1971 | |
1972 | Helmut Wopfner |
1973 | |
1974 | |
1975 | |
1976 | C. R. Twidale |
1977 | |
1978 | |
1979 | |
1980 | |
1981 | Warren Bonython |
1982–1983 | |
1984 | |
1985–1986 | Mike Tyler |
1987 | |
1988–1989 | |
1990–1992 | |
1992–1994 | |
1994–1996 | |
1996–1998 | |
1998–2000 | |
2000–2002 | |
2002–2004 | |
2004–2006 | [33] |
2006–2008 | [34] |
2008–2010 | [35] |
2010–2012 | |
2012–2014 | |
2014–2016 | |
2016–Present | J. Long |
Verco Medal recipients[]
- "The medal shall be awarded for distinguished scientific work published by a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia. It is the highest honour that the Society can bestow on one of its Fellows. Only those who have made a significant, outstanding contribution to their field(s) of study receive the award."[10]
The medal is named in honour of Joseph Verco. The first award of the medal was to Prof Walter Howchin in 1929.[36]
Previous winners include:
Year | Name | Source |
---|---|---|
1966 | Alderman | |
2004 | [37] | |
1962 | Herbert Andrewartha | |
1996 | Mike Archer (paleontologist) | |
1989 | ||
1930 | John McConnell Black | |
2003 | John Bowie | [38] |
1933 | John Burton Cleland | |
1960 | ||
1999 | ||
1970 | Martin Glaessner | [39] |
1946 | ||
1935 | Thomas Harvey Johnston | [40] |
1929 | Walter Howchin | |
1976 | Hutton | |
1963 | Nelly Hooper Ludbrook | |
1945 | Cecil Madigan | |
1931 | Douglas Mawson | |
1971 | Charles P. Mountford | |
1972 | Parkin | |
1957 | [41] | |
1938 | James Arthur Prescott | |
1967 | Pryor | |
2008 | ||
2010 | [42] | |
1965 | Southcott | |
1961 | Specht | |
1968 | Reg Sprigg | |
1959 | Stephens | |
1974 | Thomas | |
1975 | Thomson | |
1956 | Norman Tindale | |
1980 | Michael J. Tyler | |
1955 | Leonard Keith Ward | |
2007 | [43] | |
1990 | [44] | |
1943 | Herbert Womersley | |
1969 | [45] | |
1944 | Joseph Garnett Wood | |
1973 | Helmut Wopfner | [46] |
1932 | not awarded | |
1934 | not awarded | |
1936–1937 | not awarded | |
1939–1942 | not awarded | |
1947–1954 | not awarded | |
1958 | not awarded | |
1964 | not awarded | |
2013 | Alan Cooper | [47] |
2014 | John Long | [48] |
2017 | Corey Bradshaw | [49] |
2018 | Mike Lee | [50] |
Notable members[]
Notable members of the Royal Society of South Australia have included:
- Prof. William Henry Bragg,[51]
- Prof. Sir Robert William Chapman,[51]
- Thomas Charles Cloud (died 1918),[51]
- Alexander William Dobbie (born 1843),[51]
- John William Hall Hullett (born 1847),[51]
- Prof. Horace Lamb
- Dr. Cecil Thomas Madigan (1889–1947),[51]
- James McGeorge,[51]
- Thomas Parker,[51]
- Walter Rutt (1842–1925),[51]
- Prof. Ralph Tate
- Sir Charles Todd,[51]
- Carl Albert Unbehaun (1851–1924)[51] and
- Robert Archibald White.[51]
See also[]
- Australian Academy of Science
- Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
- Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
- Royal Society of New South Wales
- Royal Society of Queensland
- Royal Society of Tasmania
- Royal Society of Victoria
- Royal Society of Western Australia
- The Royal Society (The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge)
- Royal Society (disambiguation)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "About the Society". Royal Society of South Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Coroner's Inquest". South Australian Register. XVII (1973). South Australia. 11 January 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Adelaide Philosophical Society". South Australian Register. XVII (2187). South Australia. 19 September 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Late Mr. T. D. Smeaton". The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 19 February 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Wikipedia citation "Adelaide Philosophical Society". South Australian Register. XVIII (2301). South Australia. 30 January 1854. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Adelaide Philosophical Society". South Australian Register. XLV (10, 577). South Australia. 7 October 1880. p. 2 (Supplement to the South Australian Register.). Retrieved 3 October 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Tuesday, October 12, 1880". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 October 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "Field Naturalist Society of South Australia carries its care for the environment from 1883". AdelaideAZ. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ Membership Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Society of South Australia Inc.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Awards & Medals Archived 12 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Society of South Australia Inc.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Publications". Royal Society of South Australia. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Royal Society of South Australia; Royal Society of South Australia (1938), Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, Incorporated, Royal Society of South Australia, ISSN 0372-1426
- ^ Corvo, Shannon (1 July 2020). "Outback flamingos, giant penguins on new list of extinct Australian birds". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Flinders University (26 June 2020). "No leg to stand on for Australia's flamingos". Phys.org. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Worthy, Trevor H.; Nguyen, Jacqueline M. T. (2 January 2020). "An annotated checklist of the fossil birds of Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. Informa UK Limited. 144 (1): 66–108. doi:10.1080/03721426.2020.1756560. ISSN 0372-1426. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via Taylor & Francis online.
- ^ List of Presidents Archived 4 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, RSSA
- ^ Sally O'Neill, 'Mais, Henry Coathupe (1827–1916)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 200-201
- ^ Blackburn, Thomas (1844–1912), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Joyce Gibberd, 'Rogers, Richard Sanders (1861–1942)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, p. 443.
- ^ Neville Hicks, Helen McIntosh, 'Pulleine, Robert Henry (1869–1935)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 306-307.
- ^ Lynne Trethewey, 'Fenner, Charles Albert Edward (1884–1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 481-482.
- ^ Dorothea F. Sandars, 'Johnston, Thomas Harvey (1881–1951)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, p. 501.
- ^ Tasman Brown, Ruth Rogers, 'Campbell, Thomas Draper (1893–1967)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 361-362.
- ^ Hale, Herbert Mathew (1895–1963), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Davidson, James (1885–1945), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ T. O. Browning, 'Davidson, James (1885–1945)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 226-227.
- ^ Cooke, William Ternent (1877–1957), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
Margaret Macilwain, 'Cooke, Constance Mary Ternent (1882–1967)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume, Melbourne University Press, 2005, pp 76-77. - ^ Womersley, Herbert (1889–1962), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Piper, Clarence Sherwood (1903–1988), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Trumble, Hugh Christian (1903–), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Tindale, Norman Barnett (1900–1993), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ Andrewartha, Herbert George (1907–1992), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
L. C. Birch and T. O. Browning, Herbert George Andrewartha 1907-1992 Archived 2 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Historical Records of Australian Science, vol.9, no.3, 1993. - ^ Dr. Rob W. Fitzpatrick Archived 12 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, CSIRO
- ^ Dr. Allan Pring, SA Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ Dr. John Jennings, University of Adelaide. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ Award of the Sir Joseph Verco Medal 1929-1976[permanent dead link], TRSSA, Vol 100, p.208, www.samuseum.sa.gov.au
- ^ "The Board of South East Energy". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ Frog research – more than skin deep Archived 16 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 16 December 2003, also at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news635.html
- ^ Glaessner, Martin Fritz (1906–1989), www.eoas.info
- ^ Johnston, Thomas Harvey (1881–1951), www.eoas.info
- ^ Piper, Clarence Sherwood (1903–1988), www.eoas.info
- ^ "Dr Mike Smith, National Museum of Australia". Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Royal Society honours for two, Adelaidean, October 2007, www.adelaide.edu.au
- ^ Williams, William David (1936–), www.eoas.info
- ^ Womersley, Hugh Bryan Spencer (1922–), www.eoas.info
- ^ Dr Helmut Wopfner—Biography Archived 6 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, PESA News, June/July 2010, p.56
- ^ "Alan Cooper". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ flindersblogs (9 October 2014). "Flinders scientist wins coveted science prize". Flinders University. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ newsdesk (11 October 2017). "Ecologist heads for top biology award". Flinders University. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ Sly, David (16 October 2018). "Palaeontology expert wins top science medal". Flinders in Touch. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l Cumming, D.A. and Moxham, G. They Built South Australia published by the authors February 1986 ISBN 0-9589111-0-X
Further reading[]
- "S.A. Societies, No. 4". The Register News-pictorial. XCIV (27, 332). South Australia. 22 March 1929. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
External links[]
- Official website
- The Story of the Royal Society, The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA), 22 March 1929, p. 13
- Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage
- Learned societies of Australia
- Organisations based in Adelaide
- Clubs and societies in South Australia
- 1853 establishments in Australia