Journal Article

Author

Garden, Don

Title

The Royal Society of Tasmania

In

History: magazine of the Royal Australian Historical Society

Imprint

no. 165, September 2025, pp. 18-21

Subject

History of Natural Sciences Biological Sciences

Format

Print

Contains

Image

Abstract

In 2024, the Royal Society of New South Wales
published its history, written by Anne Coote. 1 In my
review of the book for the RAHS journal, I
commented that:

Coote demolishes the persistent myth that The
Royal Society of New South Wales (RSNSW) was
the first 'Royal Society' in Australia ... Instead, she
clearly identifies that its foundation was the
Philosophical Society of New South Wales in 1856
which in 1866 became RSNSW ... 2

While historians are no longer as preoccupied with
'firsts' as once they were, Coote's book was appreciated
in Tasmania where the actual first Australian Royal
Society, the Royal Society of Tasmania (RST), was
founded in 1843 and is acknowledged to be the oldest
Royal Society outside the United Kingdom.

Source

cohn 2025

Related entries

Corporate Bodies

• Philosophical Society of New South Wales (1856 - 1866)
• Royal Society of New South Wales (1866 - )
• Royal Society of Tasmania (1843 - )
• Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (1863 - )
• Tasmanian Natural History Society (1838 - 1849)
• The University of Tasmania (1890 - )

People

• Denison, William Thomas (1804 - 1871)
• Franklin, Jane (1791 - 1875)
• Franklin, John (1786 - 1847)
• Meredith, Louisa Ann (1812 - 1895)

Related Published resources

References

• Coote, Anne, Knowledge for a nation : origins of the Royal Society of New South Wales (St Leonards, N.S.W.: Royal Society of New South Wales, 2024), 304 pp. Details
• Morton, Alex, 'Some Account of the Work and Workers of the Tasmanian Society and the Royal Society of Tasmania, From the Year 1840 to the Close of 1900.', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania (1900), 109-126. Details
• Pybus, Cassandra, A very secret trade: the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2024), 318 pp. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Cassandra-Pybus-Very-Secret-Trade-9781761066344. Details
• Ross, L., 'Resurrection: the creation history of the Royal Society of Tasmania's northern Branch', Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 155 (1) (2021), 1-7. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.155.1.1. Details
• Somerville, J., 'The Royal Society of Tasmania, 1843-1943', Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 1943 (1944), 199-222. Details