The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia.
The RSWA was founded in 1914, and also gained the "Royal" name in the same year. [1] It publishes the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, [2] and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western Australia (also known incorrectly as the Kelvin Medal) on an occasional basis since 1924. [3]
The Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering scientific research carried out in Western Australia, or on topics related to Western Australia. [4] [5] It is the official journal of the Society and traces its roots to the Journal and Proceedings of the Mueller Botanic Society of Western Australia published from 1899 to 1903. [6] The Mueller Botanic Society became the West Australian Natural History Society in 1903, and from 1904 to 1909, the journal was published as Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society. [7] In 1909 the society again changed its name, becoming the Natural History and Science Society of Western Australia, and its journal was subsequently published as Journal of the Natural History and Science Society of Western Australia until 1914. [8] In that year, the Royal Society of Western Australia was established, and the journal obtained its present name.
The Mueller Botanic Society was presided over by E. J. Bickford and F. Tratman from its foundation in 1897. [9] It was later to join with the West Australian Natural History Society, [10] and renamed the Natural History and Science Society of Western Australia.
The first president of the Royal Society was W. J. Dakin, serving from 1913[ inconsistent ] until his replacement in 1915 by Andrew Gibb Maitland. Past presidents have included the palaeontologist Duncan Merrilees (1966–1967). Sylvia Hallam was the first women president (1985–1986). [11]
William Ernest Powell Giles, best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia.
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia by Governor Charles La Trobe in 1853, and later director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. He also founded the National Herbarium of Victoria. He named many Australian plants.
Jacob Georg Agardh was a Swedish botanist, phycologist, and taxonomist.
Julian Edmund Tenison-Woods, commonly referred to as Father Woods, was an English Catholic priest and geologist who served in Australia. With Mary MacKillop, he co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart at Penola in 1866.
Alexander Segger George is an Australian botanist. He is an authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra. The "bizarre" Restionaceae genus Alexgeorgea was named in his honour in 1976.
Alfred William Howitt, , also known by author abbreviation A.W. Howitt, was an Australian anthropologist, explorer and naturalist. He was known for leading the Victorian Relief Expedition, which set out to establish the fate of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition.
George Bennett was an English-born Australian physician and naturalist, winner of the Clarke Medal in 1890.
The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia.
Otto Wilhelm Sonder was a German botanist and pharmacist.
Charles Austin Gardner was a Western Australian botanist.
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.
The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission was the advancement of knowledge.
The Western Australian Naturalist, is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Western Australian Naturalists' Club. It publishes original research on topics related to the natural history of Western Australia.
George Maxwell (1804–1880) was a professional collector of plants and insects in Southwest Australia. The botanical specimens he obtained were used to make formal descriptions of the region's plant species.
Muelleria is a peer-reviewed scientific journal on botany published by the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. It focuses on topics relating to plants, algae, and fungi in the southern hemisphere and Australia in particular. The journal was named in honour of Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller. Muelleria commenced publication in 1955 with funding from the Maud Gibson Trust. The trust was initiated in 1945 following the donation of £20,000 by Maud Gibson, a daughter of William Gibson, founder of the Foy & Gibson department store chain.
William Vincent Fitzgerald, was an Australian botanist. He described five genera and about 210 species of plants from Western Australia, including 33 Acacia and several Eucalyptus species. He also collected for other botanists such as Ferdinand von Mueller and Joseph Maiden, and was known through his work on orchids. Eucalyptus fitzgeraldii was named for him by William Blakely.
The RSWA Medal is an award from the Royal Society of Western Australia, established to honour outstanding work and achievement in science relative to Western Australia.
Louisa Isabella Chaulk Baudinet, also known as Lucy Baudinet or Miss Baudinet was an Australian botanical collector.
Amelia Matilda Richardson Pries Bunbury (1863–1956), better known as Amelia Bunbury, was a noted photographer, furniture carver, horse breeder, and botanical collector based in south-west and north-west Western Australia.