Royal Society of Victoria
The Royal Society of Victoria is the oldest learned society in the state of Victoria in Australia.
The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) was formed in 1854 as The Philosophical Institute of Victoria from a merger between The Philosophical Society of Victoria (inaugural president Captain Andrew Clarke) and The Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (inaugural president Justice Sir Redmond Barry), both founded independently earlier in 1854 and found to be serving similar aims and membership. The Philosophical Institute received Royal Charter in 1859, and the first president of the freshly renamed Royal Society of Victoria was Dr Ferdinand Mueller (later Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller), then Victoria's Government Botanist. In 1860 the RSV organised the Burke and Wills expedition.
The Society has played an important role in the life of Melbourne and Victoria including establishing the Melbourne Museum and National Parks, convening the first Australian Antarctic Exploration Committee in 1885, organising the Burke and Wills expedition and establishing the Victorian Institute of Marine Sciences in 1978 (now the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute from 1996). It continues to be active with twice-monthly meetings throughout the year held in its historic headquarters at 8 La Trobe Street in the centre of Melbourne.
Presidents
- 1859: Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller
- 1860-1863: Sir Henry Barkly
- 1864: Sir Frederick McCoy
- 1865: Rev. Dr John Ignatius Bleasdale
- 1866-1884: Robert L.J. Ellery
- 1885-1900: William Charles Kernot
- 1901: Dr James Jamieson
- 1902: Edward John White
- 1903: John Dennant
- 1904: Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer
- 1905: George Sweet
- 1906: Edward John Dunn
- 1907: Calder E. Oliver
- 1908-1909: Pietro P.G.E. Baracchi
- 1910-1911: Ernest Willington Skeats
- 1912-1913: John Shephard
- 1914-1915: Thomas Sergeant Hall
- 1916-1917: William A. Osborne
- 1918-1919: James A. Kershaw
- 1920-1921: Alfred James Ewart
- 1922-1923: Frank Wisewould
- 1924: Thomas H. Laby
- 1925-1926: Joseph M. Baldwin
- 1927-1928: Wilfred Eade Agar
- 1929-1930: Frederick Chapman
- 1931-1932: Herbert S. Summers
- 1933-1934: William J. Young
- 1935-1936: Norman A. Esserman
- 1937-1938: Samuel M. Wadham
- 1939-1940: Daniel J. Mahony
- 1941-1942: Reuben T. Patton
- 1943-1944: William Baragwanath
- 1945-1946: John King Davis
- 1947-1948: Dermot A. Casey
- 1949-1950: Philip Crosbie Morrison
- 1951-1952: John S. Turner
- 1953-1954: Frank Leslie Stillwell
- 1955-1956: Edwin S. Hills
- 1957-1958: Valentine G. Anderson
- 1959-1960: Geoffrey W. Leeper
- 1961-1962: Richard R. Garran
- 1963-1964: Richard T.M. Pescott
- 1965-1966: John H. Chinner
- 1967-1968: Phillip G. Law
- 1969-1970: Edmund D. Gill
- 1971-1972: Alfred Dunbavin Butcher
- 1973-1974: Sir Robert R. Blackwood
- 1975-1976: James D. Morrison
- 1977-1978: John F. Lovering
- 1979-1980: Lionel L. Stubbs
- 1980-1982: Gordon D. Aitchison
- 1983-1984: David M. Churchill
- 1985-1986: Dr Grisha A. Sklovsky
- 1986-1987: Dr Terence P. O'Brien
- 1987 (Jul-Dec): Dr Grisha A. Sklovsky
- 1988-1990: Dr William R.S. Briggs
- 1991-1992: Dr Graeme F. Watson
- 1993-1994: Dr John W. Zillman
- 1995-1996: Dr Maxwell G. Lay
- 1997-1998: Professor Em. Herbert H. Bolotin
- 1999-2001: Associate Professor Gordon D. Sanson
- 2001-2003: Associate Professor Neil W. Archbold
- 2006-2007: Associate Professor Bruce Livett
- 2007-2010: Professor Graham D. Burrows
- 2010-2012: Professor Lynne Selwood
- 2013- : Dr William D. (Bill) Birch
Publication
- Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. Melbourne : The Society, 1889- Semiannual. ISSN 0035-9211. Formerly the Transactions and proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria
See also
References
External links
- The Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria's web site.
- CSIRO Publishing Current, open access editions of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria published online by CSIRO Publishing.
- State Library of Victoria, Digitised Collections Access to the digitised Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, together with those of its foundation societies.
- The RSV's Australian Eclipse Expedition to Cape York in 1871 An account of the RSV's Australian Eclipse Expedition to Cape York in 1871 in the Journal of Astronomy History and Heritage by Dr Nick Lomb.
- Burke & Wills Web A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Victorian Exploring (Burke & Wills) Expedition.
- Burke & Wills 150th A website recording the activities for the Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (Burke and Wills).
- The Burke & Wills Historical Society The Burke & Wills Historical Society.