Australian Branch, Institute of Physics (1928 - 1962)

Summary

The Australian Branch of the Institute of Physics (IoP) was formally granted autonomy from the IoP in 1939 although the existence of the Branch was acknowledged from 1928. Since 1922 the Australian members of the Institute had held regular meetings, initially chaired by Alexander Ross. Other members involved from the beginning included Thomas Laby, who became the first President of the Branch, Alexander McAulay and Edward Kidson. The business of the Branch was organised by State divisions, that for New South Wales being formed in 1940, followed by Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. In 1958 the first Special Interest Group, for Solid State Physics, was formed. Attempts to establish a separate Australian Institute started in 1951 under the presidency of George Briggs. Members born in the United Kingdom were concerned to retain their membership of the IoP: this was negotiated successfully. Alan Harper, as Secretary of the Branch, played a central role in these negotiations, which also resulted in the assets of the Branch being transferred to the new Australian Institute of Physics. The last meeting of the Australian Branch was held inAugust 1962.

Related entries

Timeline

 1928 - 1962 Australian Branch, Institute of Physics
       1963 - Australian Institute of Physics

Published resources

Edited Books

• Hügel, Helmut ed., The Royal Australian Chemical Institute: a century of bonds (Preston, Vic.: Bounce Books, 2017), 159 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Binnie, Anna, 'A Short History of the Australian Institute of Physics, Part 2: from the Formation of the Australian Branch of the Institute of Physics to the Establishment of the Australian Institute of Physics', Australian Physics, 44 (4) (2007), 128-137, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IN7sV_RIRljwstfZLa7pjQyvisDmp_m0/view?ts=65d6c651. Details
• Binnie, Anna, 'A Short History of the Australian Institute of Physics, Part 1: from European Settlement to the Formation of an Australian Committee of the Institute of Physics', Australian Physics, 44 (2) (2007), 39-44, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ILwrWWMfvqtcKNgaWdQ-sRSXIhg4nh0h/view?ts=65d6c562. Details