The Royal Society of Tasmania ABN 65 889 598 100

Annual Report for 2013

THE TASMANIAN SOCIETY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE

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THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA

ABN 65 889 598 100

Patron: His Excellency, The Governor of Tasmania,

The Honorable Peter Underwood, AC

Office Bearers and Councillors for the 2013 Calendar Year

President Professor Susan Jones

Vice President Dr AV (Tony) Brown PSM

Immediate Past President Professor Jim Reid

Honorary Secretary Mr Tony Culberg OAM

Honorary Treasurer Mr Peter Meyer

Honorary Editor Dr Margaret Davies

Honorary Librarian Lynn Davies

Councillors Dr John Coll

Dr David de Little

Dr Albert Goede

Ms Mary Koolhof

Dr Diana Nahodil

Mr Graeme Rayner

TMAG Representative Mr Bill Bleathman

Publicity Officer Ms Mary Koolhof

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Special Projects Officer Dr Anita Hansen

Northern Chapter Dr John Paull (President)

Mr Brian East (Treasurer)

Ms Chel Bardell (Secretary)

Nominated by The Royal Society of Tasmania as

Trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)

Sir Guy Green, AC, KBE, CVO

Professor Jim Reid

Contact for the North West of Tasmania Mr Andrew Bishop

Honorary Auditor Mr Richard James

Registered Office 19 Davey Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7000

Postal Address GPO Box 1166, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001

Telephone 03 6211 4177

Email address [email protected]

Website www.rst.org.au

The office is usually open Thursday mornings from 9.00 am

The Society is constituted by The Royal Society of Tasmania Act (1911) of the Tasmanian

Parliament

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

2013 was another busy and successful year for The Society.

The annual Winter Series continues to be a major event, attracting significant audiences comprised not only of members but also a wide cross-section of the Tasmanian public. This year, the theme of the Winter Series was Future-proofing the Food Supply: food security and food innovation in Tasmania. Session One, on Tuesday 18 June, which I had the honour to chair, focused on Agricultural Innovation. Professors Holger Meinke and Ted Lefroy and Dr Tony Fist presented three stimulating and sometimes controversial talks that attracted a great deal of audience interest. The second evening, on Tuesday 17 July, was presented in collaboration with the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and was chaired by The Honourable Michael Field, Chancellor of the University of Tasmania. Professors Colin Buxton and Chris Carter discussed, respectively, sustainable marine fisheries and aquaculture in Tasmania, while Dr Gretta Pecl demonstrated the great potential of ‘citizen science’ in her talk on Redmap. This year, the Winter Series received some external financial support by a grant from Inspiring Australia; I also thank the University of Tasmania for continuing to support this important community event by providing an excellent venue and audio-visual and promotional support.

Our regular monthly evening talks in both the North and the South of the state were well attended by members and friends who have enjoyed a varied and stimulating selection of talks. The annual evening of ‘postgraduate talks’ again showcased some of the excellent work being done by our aspiring Tasmanian researchers, while a record number of members and friends attended the Christmas dinner and heard a fascinating talk on echidna biology by Associate Professor Stewart Nicol. Members from both Southern and Northern Chapters took advantage of excursions to Beaconsfield to view old mine sites and foundries. Another highlight of the year was the ‘Behind the scenes’ tour of the refurbished Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). It was my privilege to represent the Society at the official opening of the new galleries. As Bill Bleathman announced his retirement from the position of Director of TMAG in December 2013, I take the opportunity to wish him well on behalf of the Society and to thank him for his significant contributions as a member of Council.

This year, The Society was a Gold Sponsor of the annual Tasmanian Science Talent Search which aims to foster the next generation of Australian scientists. Representing The Society, Dr John Paull presented the prize for the best set of Intermediate Science Inquiries to The Hutchins School. We also sponsored the commemorative ‘path medallions’ that were presented to all entrants in the Science Talent Search.

This year also saw the launch of our re-designed and updated website: I sincerely thank Dr Anita Hansen for the expertise that she brought to this important project. The new website is more user-friendly and I hope that members will find the ‘Recent News’ section on the first page useful and informative. We have also finalised a new Memorandum of Understanding between the Society and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) regarding the housing and curation of our library that is located in the Morris Miller Library at UTAS, and have established strong connections with Engineers Australia (Tasmanian Branch), with whom we have presented two joint events this year. I thank Dr Margaret Davies for organising another wonderful calendar of Gould bird pictures for 2014, and for her excellent work as Editor of our Journal which publishes a fine selection of refereed articles on topics of relevance to Tasmania: Volume 147 was released and mailed to receiving members in December, while issues up to 2011 are now available electronically via ePrints on the UTAS Library website.

Finally, I acknowledge all members of Council and Glenda Hosking our Administrative Officer for all the hard work they do behind the scenes to keep this, the oldest Royal Society outside the UK , running efficiently and well to the benefit of all members.

Professor Susan Jones President

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THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA

ABN 65 889 598 100

Financial Statements

Income and Expenditure for the Year ended 31 December 2013

Jan - Dec 2013 Jan - Dec 2012 $ Change

Income

Calendar Sales 12,645 12,921 -276

Cards 599 101 498

Christmas Function 2,520 2,520 0

Copyright 387 1,463 -1,076

Gifts and Donations 2,440 3,599 -1,159

Grants 9,800 7,400 2,400

Symposia - Income 0 0 0

Membership Dues

Associate - No Papers 1,035 845 190

Full - No Papers 9,311 7,530 1,781

Full - With Papers 10,850 10,502 348

Student - No Papers 80 40 40

Student - With Papers 180 230 -50

Total Membership Dues 21,456 19,147 2,309

Miscellaneous Income 27 524 -497

Publications 3,911 2,525 1,386

Interest Earned 835 920 -85

Total Income 54,620 51,121 3,499

Expense

Administration 5,763 5,850 -87

Bank Service Charges 732 -706 1,438

Books and Publications 11,969 20,472 -8,503

Calendar Expenses 5,474 5,622 -148

Christmas Dinner 2,640 2,007 633

Communications 2,185 100 2,085

Dues and Subscriptions 2,300 2,700 -400

Insurance 802 781 21

Mawson Symposium 0 3,634 -3,634

Meeting Expenses 669 738 -69

Miscellaneous 54 2,000 -1,946

Office Supplies 686 222 464

Parking Expense 209 423 -214

Postage and Delivery 2,881 2,739 142

Printing and Reproduction 288 217 71

Professional Fees - Accounting 120 110 10

Programme Expense 0 2,885 -2,885

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RST Library 0 8,000 -8,000

Marketing/Advertising 1,877 1,993 -116

Write-off Assets 0 0 0

Transfers 0 0 0

Total Expense 38,649 59,787 -21,138

Surplus/Shortfall 15,971 -8,667 24,638

Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2013

Dec 31, 2013 Dec 31, 2012

Accumulated Funds

As at 1 January 2013 61,115 101,543

Surplus/Shortfall 15,971 -8,667

Adj re Accounting Change 0 239

Funds to Foundation 0 -32,000

As at 31 December 2013 77,086 61,115

Current Assets CBA Current Account 30,811 27,504

CBA Term Deposit 50265602 maturing June 8th, 2013 10,892 10,408

CBA Term Deposit 50271439 maturing Feb 21st, 2013 30,554 18,203

Sub-total 72,257 56,115

Other Assets

Publications 4,829 5,000

Medals written-off 0 0

Office Furniture etc. written-off 0 0

Library at insured value 0 0

Sub-total 4,829 5,000

Total 77,086 61,115

TREASURER’S REPORT

For the financial year 2013 revenues have increased by about $4,000 over those achieved in the previous year. The main reasons for this are:

 Calendar & Card sale neutral  Copyright income shortfall – with some claims pending  Donations shortfall  Grants improvement  Membership dues improvement  Publications improvement  Interest earned improvement

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The expenses incurred for the fiscal year are about $21,000 below the previous period, and in concert with the budget.

The major expense items where:

 Cost of publications and calendars as per budget o Printing o Editing o Composing o Postage  Website upgrade as per budget  No Symposia & programs few expenses during period  Marketing as per budget  All others as per budget

This resulted in a surplus of $15,972 for 2013.

The main net contributing activities for our results were the following:

 Calendar, Card and Publication Sales 9,000  Donations 2,440  Grants 9,800  Copyright 387  Interest Earned 835

Membership subscriptions have been adjusted in line with inflation. This, together with new members, improved our membership revenue by $2,309 to $21,456. The very popular Winter Series of Lectures has contributed to maintaining our membership numbers and also attracting new and younger members.

The fully paid-up membership of the Society now stands as follows:

Current Membership Ordinary Members Life Members Honorary Members Total Total Members 363 21 6 390 North 90 2 1 93 South 245 11 4 260 Australia 25 7 0 32 Overseas 3 1 1 5 as at end December 2013

Funds surplus to day to day requirements have been invested in Term Deposits and transferred to the Society’s Foundation in accord with the budget. The Foundation holds over $265,000 in diversified, well invested funds.

As per legislation, the Society has now been registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and maintains its Deductible Gift Recipient status.

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A budget for 2014 has been prepared and was approved in November. The assumptions made and the numbers presented are still valid and current. This budget document will help to provide good operating guidelines and cash flow requirements for the coming year. Based on previous experience and positive feed-back received, the budget also includes yet another very interesting Symposium and the publication of a new and exciting book.

Peter Meyer Honorary Treasurer

AUDIT REPORT FOR 2013

Notes to the Accounts

1. Statement of Accounting Policies. This is not a general purpose financial report. It is a special purpose report to meet the requirements of the Society. The Society is of a type identified in Statement of Accounting Concepts 1 as a non-reporting entity. No regard has been paid to other Statement of Accounting Concepts in the preparation of this report. The accounts have been prepared on a cash basis from historical cost records, except where otherwise stated.

2. Income Tax. Pursuant to Section 50-45 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, The Royal Society of Tasmania is exempt from Income Tax.

3. There is an Art Collection held by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery which has been catalogued, but the ownership of some items is still being resolved. The value of this collection is not as yet determined and is as such not shown in the accounts.

4. The Rare Book Library has been professionally valued to be worth $2,757,355 and the remaining books are estimated to have a value of approximately $250,000.

5. Publications stored at the Society’s office are estimated at $5,000

6. Other assets, such as office furniture and medals are fully written-down.

7. The Society is now a registered entity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and will retain the Deductible Gift Recipient status.

Audit Report

I report that I have examined the books, accounts and vouchers for The Royal Society of Tasmania for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013. The Committee of Management is responsible for the financial report and has determined that the accounting policies used and described in Note 1 above are appropriate to its needs. I have conducted an independent audit of the financial report in order to express an independent opinion on it to members of The Royal Society of Tasmania. No opinion is expressed as to whether the accounting policies used, and described in Note 1, are appropriate to the needs of the members.

Donations, subscriptions, symposia, calendars, cards, publications and other fund raising activities are a significant source of revenue for the Society. The Society has determined that it is impracticable to establish control over the collection of donations, subscriptions and other funds prior to entry into the financial records. The accounts record all the income and expenditure recorded in the books of the Society, but while I have no reason to believe that there

8 has been any unrecorded income or expenditure, I am not able to confirm this. With these reservations, in my opinion, the accompanying Statement of Income and Expenditure and Asset List represent a true and fair view of the Society’s affairs for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Signed:

Richard H. James

B Bus FIPA Commissioner for Declarations and Auditor 6 January 2014

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA NORTHERN CHAPTER

ANNUAL REPORT TO MEMBERS AND COUNCIL 2013

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Dr John Paull (President, and Northern Chapter Representative on RST Foundation) Dr Eric Ratcliff OAM, (Immediate Past President) Mr Brian East (Treasurer) Ms Chel Bardell (Secretary) Mrs Fran Davidson (Media Liaison Officer) Mr Andrew Parsons (Librarian and Website Manager) Mr Richard Mulvaney (Director, QVMAG) Ms Kaye Dowling Mr David Morris. Mr Elvin Fist Mr Stan Payne Ms Jane Hall-Dadson Mr Barry Waining

The Committee met on five occasions during the year, on each occasion prior to a lecture. Committee members communicated frequently on other occasions, as necessary, by telephone and email.

Dr Paull attended a majority of Council meetings in Hobart and presented the views of the Northern Chapter on appropriate matters.

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP In recognition of his many years of service to the Royal Society of Tasmania the Committee recommended the appointment of Dr John Morris AO as an Honorary Life Member. Council agreed to the appointment, and approved a certificate provided by Dr John Paull and signed by the RST President, Professor Susan Jones, which was presented to Dr Morris on the 23rd June 2013.

NORTHERN COLLECTION OF SOCIETY'S LIBRARY Council agreed to the re-establishment of a Northern RST Library, located within the QVMAG existing Library,

9 and administered by the QVMAG Library Co-ordinator and RST Northern Chapter Librarian, Andrew Parsons. A book donation made to the Society's Library by Anita Hansen in 2012, previously stored at the UTAS Library, will form the foundation of the new Northern RST Library's collection.

WEBSITE. During the year our Chapter made a number of suggestions to the Council subcommittee tasked with updating the Society website. The principal suggestion involved changes to the way in which the Northern Chapter’s program and acivities were displayed and accessed. We sought the introduction of a separate Northern Chapter Tab on the Society home page, and the appointment and training of a committee member as editor and manager of our section of the webpage. Council agreed to these changes and provided training for Mr Andrew Parsons who agreed to undertake this responsibility. We thank him for the work he is doing. The Committee also thanks Councillor Anita Hansen in Hobart for the enormous amount of work and thought she put into this project. Please make sure you visit the website http://rst.org.au/ frequently and forward suggestions or comments to Andrew at [email protected]

VENUE The Committee acknowledges the assistance extended to the Chapter by the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, whose Inveresk facilities we use for lectures and committee meetings and whose staff assist us enormously. We thank Mr Richard Mulvaney, Director, for his support of our efforts to bring important and interesting lecturers before the community. We are particularly grateful to the audio-visual technician for his willing assistance and very competent service.

FIELD TRIPS The Australian Maritime College was visited on 9th April for a tour of three of the research and testing facilities at the College. Demonstrations and explanations of the workings of the Towing Tank, the Wave Tank and the enormous Cavitation Facility were enjoyed by the participants. An excursion to the historical Beaconsfield Mine area was held on 19th May, visiting several old iron mining and refining sites, explained by local mining historian Nigel Burch, who also demonstrated the extensive presence of magnetite, in much of the roadside gravel, by use of a powerful rare earth magnet. The UTAS Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITLab) was visited on 17th October, providing a fascinating insight into innovative ways humans can interact with computers. Participants enjoyed using computer-generated models to design molecular structures, test their limb mobility, dissect a virtual frog and virtually take a tour of local tourist spots.

NEWSLETTER A “Northern Notes” newsletter was re-established for the Northern Chapter and circulated to members in May, August and November of 2013

LECTURE PROGRAM 2013 The Committee extends its thanks to the speakers for their generosity and the excellence of their presentations. This year’s programme has been notable for the quality of our speakers and for the large attendances at many of our meetings. A year's RST membership was donated to each of our non-member guest speakers.

An outstanding feature of the 2013 programme was the forum held during National Science Week in August, discussing the health of various fish species in both local and commercial locations in Tasmania.

Dr John Paull Ms Chel Bardell President Honorary Secretary 10

The Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Chapter Financial Statement for Year January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013

Receipts Door receipts from non-member patrons 853.00 Petty cash re-banked (ex-Treasurer) 39.60 Interest Tas Perpetual Trustees 117.29 $ 1009.89

Payments QVMAG AV staff costs 1968.74 Printing 190.50 Laminating 123.25 Stationery 102.64 Postage 32.60 Catering 246.05 Travel to RST Council meetings 229.70 Media Officer memberships 100.00 Added to Petty Cash (drawn, not spent) 12.36 $ 3005.84

Net Cash Outflow $ 1995.95

Balance as per Cash Book & at TPT, January 1, 2013 $ 5111.83 Net Cash Outflow, January – December 1995.95 Balance as per Cash Book & at TPT, December 31, 2013 $ 3115.88

Petty Cash (held by Secretary)

Balance January 1, 2013 (Treasurer & Secretary) 89.60 Re-banked by Treasurer 39.60 50.00 Addition to Secretary’s Holding, January – December 12.36 Balance December 31, 2013 $ 62.36

Summary

Balances, January 1, 2013 Cash Book/TPT 5111.83 Petty Cash 89.60 $ 5201.43

Decrease in balances, 2013 Cash Book/TPT 1995.95 Petty Cash 27.24 $ 2023.19

Balances, December 31, 2013 Cash Book/TPT 3115.88 Petty Cash 62.36 $ 3178.24

B. M. East, Treasurer.

Auditor's Statement

I have examined documents supplied to me from which the Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Chapter, Financial Report for 2013 has been prepared. The Report is a correct record of the Chapter's financial position.

J. S. Stevenson, Honorary Auditor

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EDITOR’S REPORT

Volume 147 of the Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania was published on 17 December 2013 and comprised seven papers. Three papers were historical, one was on forest ecology, one on seed germination after fire and the final paper was on Pliocene sediments and their foraminifera on Flinders Island. The journal was produced in full colour. June Pongratz again ably set the journal and Caroline Mordaunt provided final copy editing.

Another calendar featuring Gould birds was produced with the expert assistance of Kent Whitmore at Forty Degrees South.

Anita Hansen and I continued with the coffee table book project featuring the amazing natural history art contained within some of our Rare Book collection housed in the Morris Miller Library at the University of Tasmania. The volume is on track for publication in the second half of 2014.

Dr Margaret Davies Honorary Editor

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA FOUNDATION

The Foundation was established with the following aims:

1. To take over and undertake the investment and administration of the funds and investments of the Society which have been provided by donors to the Society or which are raised by the Foundation for the purposes of the Society or which are surplus to the requirements of the Society from time to time (the Fund);

2. To raise by subscription, gift, bequest, public appeal or other means, funds for the use of the Society and to invest and deal with those funds under this rule:

3. To pay such part or parts of the annual income of the Fund to the Council as the Council may require for the purposes of the Society and to invest any surplus income as capital of the Fund;

4. To invest any monies or assets which have been provided by donors to the Society subject to special conditions as part of the Fund but so that the values of those monies or assets remain separately identified so as to allow the Society to give effect to the special conditions imposed by the donors.

This year, the accumulated funds are expected to reach approximately $267,620 and in a sense achieved the original target of $250,000. Again I congratulate all the earlier Council members on establishing the trend towards this total. The Council has agreed that this total should not be seen as an endpoint but a sign that the Foundation is alive and well, and that the original aims can be best served by continual growth in the reserves held in the Fund.

The Council members believe that the time has come when some of the balance over and above the target figure could be used to advance the aims of the Society and various options have been discussed at meetings. ‘Events’ to achieve the aims include symposia and workshops, and the Foundation welcomes ideas from the membership.

Current members of the Council of the Foundation are:

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Prof. Patrick Quilty (Chairman) Mr Peter Meyer (Treasurer) Mr Tony Culberg (Secretary) Dr Albert Goede Dr John Paull

Patrick G. Quilty AM Chairman

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA FOUNDATION BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 December 2013

Perpetual Trustees- Select mortgage 216,733 Perpetual Trustees- Long Term 17,056 Commonwealth Bank- Term Deposit 32,617

Total 266,406

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA LIBRARY

Staffing Up until April 2013, the Special & Rare Collections was the responsibility of the Senior Librarian, Physical Collections (Andrew Parsons) who was full-time with 50% support from a Library Officer (Luana Nandan). These staff accepted Voluntary Separation packages and left UTAS employment in December 2012 and April 2013 respectively. Upon their departure the responsibility for Special & Rare Collections was transferred to the Morris Miller Librarian. After a selection process, Lynn Davies was appointed Special & Rare Collections Librarian (0.5 fraction) which includes the responsibility of being the Honorary Librarian for The Royal Society of Tasmania, and Heather Excell was appointed as the Library Officer at 0.5 fraction. The shift in responsibility for the section resulted in The Royal Society physical collections issues (including the serial exchange program) being undertaken by staff in the UTAS Library Resource Management section; in consultation with Lynn Davies. The Librarian responsible for physical collection issues (acquisitions, cataloguing, and dissemination) is Deb Wilson.

Opening Hours Prior to April 2013 the opening hours for Special & Rare Collections were Tuesday to Thursday inclusive from 9.30 am – 4.00 pm with a one-hour lunch break where the area was closed. From April 2013 it was negotiated to leave the ‘opening hours’ days as is for 2013, but to remain open for the full day (ie not closed during the lunch hour).

Library Collection Management

Digitised version of the Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania The RST’s Papers & Proceedings were digitised and published as open-access objects in the Library Open Repository (ePrints) mid-2012. They continue to enjoy great success regarding their use (as measured by 13 downloads) with more than 209,000 total downloads since publication on the Repository. There were some 153,000 downloads during 2013. The digitised versions can be found at http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/collections/PapersProceedingsRoyalSociety.html

Open Journal System Special & Rare Collections encouraged the Library to explore the Open Journal System as a way to promote and improve discoverability of the digitised version of the Papers and Proceedings. Currently all 2900 articles and associated objects of the digitised Papers and Proceedings appear as one very long scrolling page. Access to a product trial was established in late 2013 and the Honorary RST Librarian will explore the software in detail in 2014.

Papers & Proceedings Exchange Program An analysis of the RST’s journal exchange program was conducted during the latter part of 2013. As a result the confirmed number of copies required for distribution was set at 160.

Distribution of the Print Copies of the Papers & Proceedings Volume 147 December 2013 of the Society’s Papers and Proceedings was despatched in late December 2013 as part of the serial exchange program. Despatch of exchange copies continues to be undertaken and funded by the University Library.

Print serials collection During 2013 duplicate serials held by both the Science Library and The RST open-access serial collection in the Morris Miller Library were compared and any gaps in the latter collection were backfilled by Science Library holdings. This made more complete holdings for The RST serial collection and was undertaken due to the impending closure of the Science Library.

1992 MOU between The Royal Society of Tasmania and the UTAS Library update Margaret Davies and Jim Reid negotiated a new The RST - UTAS Library MOU agreement in the latter part of 2013. The UTAS Library representatives were Jane Long, the University Librarian, and Karmen Pemberton (Morris Miller Librarian) who manages the Special & Rare Collections section, of which The RST Library is a part. Negotiations went well and a new 2013 MOU was signed by Jane Long (24 Dec 2013) and The President of The RST, Sue Jones (31 Dec 2013).

RST Book - The Library at the end of the world Special & Rare Collections staff, in particular the Library Officer, spent considerable time assisting book chapter authors with their RST rare items during 2013. Time was also spent with some RST Members assisting them with the new camera equipment that the section was given during the year. This equipment speeds up the workflow as it makes it much easier to take high resolution images by increasing the light source and ensuring optimum camera positioning.

Library Exhibition During August some of The RST rare materials were exhibited as part of a National Science Week, UTAS Open Day and National Endangered Species Day. The RST was duly acknowledged.

Library Collection Usage The RST’s collections were heavily consulted during 2013 partly due to the authors researching their assigned subject chapters for the 2014 publication of The RST book The Library at the end of the world.

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Special & Rare Collections staff now work closely with the UTAS Copyright Officer to ensure the correct permission status is applied to all The RST published objects and also to all requests for use of The RST materials. We ensure that The Society is duly acknowledged in all dealings with the materials.

Statistics The statistics for 2013 cover the period April – December 2013 only. Staff from other sections of the Library attended to Special & Rare Collection enquiries between January – April (as the continuing Library Officer, Luana Nandan, had left UTAS employment) and statistics were not captured during this period.

Lynn Davies and Heather Excell

Terms Contacts – Includes all email enquiries and walk-in clients Uses - Includes all viewed requested material measured per client 15

BURSARY COMMITTEE

No applications were received for the bursary award scheme in 2013.

The Bursary award is intended as a contribution towards expenses for participants selected for the International Science Olympiads Competitions in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics or other similar level competitions.

P W Smith Convener

CHAIRMAN of TRUSTEES of the TASMANIAN MUSEUM and ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT

This was a watershed year for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). After many years of planning, stage one of the redevelopment of the museum, the largest public cultural project in the state, was successfully delivered.

During the redevelopment, TMAG’s operations did not stop. Through a good deal of logistical creativity and staff flexibility it managed to stay partially open for much of the time with some 240,000 visitors coming to the museum. TMAG’s collections were further enriched and enlarged by outstanding donations and acquisitions and our curatorial and professional staff continued to undertake research, education and scholarship in a range of areas.

A highlight was the collaboration between TMAG and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) which produced the Theatre of the World exhibition. Comprising over 300 objects from TMAG’s collection, together with 160 from the personal collection of Mr David Walsh, the Hobart exhibition was a prelude to its touring to the renowned Maison Rouge Gallery in Paris in October 2013.

And all this was achieved despite the challenges and demands of sharing the museum with a construction site.

The redeveloped Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, with its new main entry, the historic Watergate, reopened on the 15th March 2013. It has been enthusiastically received by our professional peers, our supporters and by the wider community with visitation rates since the redevelopment being at an all-time high.

As Chairman of Trustees, and as The Royal Society representative, I am very proud of the achievements of everyone involved. The leadership and managerial capacity of the Director Mr Bill Bleathman, the commitment and professionalism of his staff including especially the project manager Jennifer Storer and the most valuable guidance and advice of the Planning Steering Group have been critical to the success of the project.

In short, 2012-2013 was a year in which TMAG splendidly delivered on all its commitments. The Trustees and I look forward to continuing the museum's role of being in the vanguard of Tasmania's cultural renaissance for the benefit of Tasmanians and visitors to Tasmania and scholars everywhere.

Sir Guy Green, AC, KBE, CVO

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PUBLICITY OFFICER REPORT 2013

Lectures this year were well publicised each month on ABC radio, with an interview on the Radio 936 breakfast show taking place for each monthly speaker as well as each of the Winter Series evenings. Sincere thanks go to Ryk Goddard for his insightful and well-prepared questions, making for interesting listening. For most months we had community members arrive for the lecture after having heard the interview. In several months, lectures received mention in articles on the education page of the Mercury. In an endeavour to increase membership, membership forms have been available at each evening lecture and audience members have been invited to consider joining if they are not already members. It is planned to continue this strategy next year. An effective working relationship was developed with Engineers Australia (Tasmania), who advertised the Society’s lectures to members via their website. The Society’s lecture evenings are also mentioned in the Diary section of the Mercury each month.

The publicity officer prepared an information sheet on the Society to be included in information packs distributed at the Tasmanian Science Talent Search, and provided an article on the Society for publication in the science teachers’ association newsletter, STATIC. The aim of these initiatives was to start bringing the Society to the attention of the next generation of Tasmanian researchers.

The successful journalism project continued into its second year with the support of the Mercury newspaper and Dr Nicola Goc from the University of Tasmania School of Journalism. Stephanie Eslake covered the first Winter Lecture 2013 and the Postgraduate Students’ Night in October while Fraser Johnston covered the second Winter Lecture, with the articles being duly published in the newspaper and providing valuable publicity for the Society. Special thanks go to Damian Bester, Education Manager at the Mercury, for his time and effort in helping to make this project a success.

Mary Koolhof Honorary Publicity Officer

HONOURS COMMITTEE REPORT

In our Royal Society Lecture Room a significant item is the Honours Panel. Members and visitors to the lecture room would be intrigued and perhaps read in awe the names of those prestigious people who have been recognised by The Royal Society of Tasmania over many years. The individuals and their work is to be commended and the process to recognise them lifts your Society's status within the Tasmanian and wider academic community.

There are five significant awards or medals available and nominations are received, following wide advertisement, in an orderly and planned roster from year to year. The five are:  The RM Johnston Memorial Medal  The Royal Society of Tasmania Medal  The Clive Lord Memorial Medal  The MR Banks Medal  The Royal Society of Tasmania Annual Doctoral (PhD) Award.

In 2013 we awarded all medals other than the RM Johnston Memorial Medal. The names of the awardees will be announced at the AGM in March 2014.

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The involvement of members in the nomination process is vital to the program. All members are encouraged to be active in promoting these recognitions. The wider community should also be informed when awards are announced.

During 2013 nominations were called for four recognitions and your committee was impressed with all candidates. Recommendations were then made to the Society’s Council. Last year Dr Peter McCartney, Prof. Michael Roe and Dr Shirley Jeffrey completed distinguished service as members of the committee for many years. Each had given conscientious service and we appreciate their extended work for the Society. With sadness we note the recent passing of Dr Jeffrey. Shirley was particularly tenacious in her examination of each nomination and added her extended ability to recognise unique scholarship.

We welcomed Prof. Gregory Woods and Prof. Pam Sharpe to the committee. Prof. Jim Reid and Prof. Pat Quilty continue as members while the President, Prof. Susan Jones is also continuing as a member. For 2014 there will be only one award made and that is the Annual Doctoral Award.

Dr John G. Thorne AM Chairman

2013 LECTURE PROGRAM

SOUTH

Tuesday, 5 March 2013 Treating Osteoarthritis with bone acting agents Presentation by Dawn Dore PhD

Tuesday, 9 April 2013 Edgeworth David in Antarctica Presentation by Dr Jenny Gardner

Tuesday, 7 May 2013 Systematic methods for Natural Disaster Risk Management Presentation by Dr Marlene Kanga

Tuesday, 4 June 2013 Cloud Seeding Presentation by Mr Vaughan Latimer

Tuesday, 2 July 2013 Sir Joseph Banks Presentation by Mr Mickey Benefiel

Tuesday 6 August 2013 Behind the scenes at TMAG Presentation by Mr Bill Bleathman

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Tuesday, 3 September 2013 The Kennedy Family in Battery Point Presentation by Mr Anthony (Tony) Hope

Tuesday, 1 October 2013. Postgraduate Student talks 1. (Ms) Jo McEvoy (Zoology). A Lizards got personality 2. Mr Ryan Nai (Chemistry) New methods for determining the diversity of microbial communities. 3. Dr Jacqueline Fox (History and Classics) From criminalisation to negotiation: colonial interactions with Aboriginal people during the Black War.

Tuesday 5 November 2013 Trace Element Chemistry of the Oceans reveals New Theory on Mass Extinction Events Presentation by Professor Ross Large

Tuesday, 3 December 2013 From spiny ant-eater to promiscuous spiky baby killer – an incomplete natural history of echidnas Presentation by Associate Professor Stewart Nicol

WINTER SERIES 2013

Future proofing the food supply: food security and food innovation in Tasmania

Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre, University of Tasmania.

Session One: Agricultural innovation

Tuesday, 18 June, 7.30 pm Chair: Professor Susan Jones, President of The Royal Society of Tasmania

1. Tasmania as a food bowl? Professor Holger Meinke, Director, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania

2. Development of the Tasmanian Poppy Industry - being competitive in the international market Dr Tony Fist, Director, Agricultural R&D, Tasmanian Alkaloids Pty Ltd

3. Science, values and the politics of place; the search for sustainability in Tasmanian agricultural landscapes. Professor Ted Lefroy, Director, Centre for Environment, University of Tasmania

Session Two: Food from the sea: the changing marine environment

Tuesday, 16th July 7.30 pm Chair: The Honourable Michael Field Chancellor, The University of Tasmania

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1. Sustainable marine fisheries Professor Colin Buxton, Director - Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania

2. Sustainable marine aquaculture Prof Chris Carter, Aquaculture Program Leader, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania

3. Our changing marine environment: Redmap and the contributions of citizen science Dr Gretta Pecl, Senior Research Fellow, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania

NORTH

Sunday, 24th February, 2013 Mr Kevin Chilman, Atlantic Salmon: from egg to plate Attendance: 40

Sunday, 24th March, 2013 Mr Paul Richards, Caverneering in the Mole Creek area Attendance: 52

Sunday, 28th April 2013 Mr Barry Waining, Clean Coal Technology Attendance: 43

Sunday, 26th May, 2013 Dr Brendan Vote, Technological Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Disease Attendance: 80

Sunday, 23rd June 2013 Mr David Maynard, Marine Biology Research Attendance:62

Sunday, 28th July 2013 Professor Don Chalmers, The Promise of Personalised Medicine: Hope or hype? Attendance: 59

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Sunday, 11th August, 2013 Science Week Forum

Professor Barbara Novak, Fish Parasites: Why should we care?

Ms Victoria A. Valdenegro-Vega, Combating Amoebic Gill Disease in Atlantic Salmon

Mr Fu Dingkun, Heavy Metal Pollution Effects on Sand Flathead in the Derwent Estuary Attendance: 28

Sunday, 26th August, 2013 Professor Alison Venn, Investigating the Early Origins of Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes: How important is childhood overweight and obesity? Attendance: 35

Sunday, 29th September, 2013 Mrs Jane Hall-Dadson, Science Education in Tasmania Attendance: 24

Sunday 27th October, 2013 Mr Robin Walpole, The Long Road Back from the Edge of Extinction: The Tasmanian Railway dilemma Attendance: 74

Sunday 24th November 2013 Dr Leigh Sparrow Delving into the Soil Carbon Black Box Attendance: 44

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