Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry (1920 - 1926)

Summary

In 1920 the Institute of Science and Industry Act was passed by Federal Parliament. It set the legal foundations for the establishment of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. The Institute continued the work of the Advisory Council of Science and Industry (1916 - 1920). In 1926 further changes were made to the Act, resulting in the creation of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (1926 - 1949), which succeeded the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. The governance of the Institute comprised a Director (George H. Knibbs), a Provisional General Advisory Council, and Provisional State Advisory Boards. Two annual reports were submitted to Parliament in 1922 and 1923.

Details

In 1923 the members of the Provisional General Advisory Council were:

* D. Avery, M.Sc.;
* S. S. Cameron, D.V.Sc.;
* G. D. Delprat, C.B.E.;
* H. W. Gepp;
* Professor T. R. Lyle, M.A., Sc.D., E.R.S.;
* C. S. Nathan;
* A. B. Piddington, K.C.;
* A. E. V. Richardson, M.A., D.Sc.;
* Professor J. Douglas Stewart, B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S.;
* Professor R. D. Watt, M.A., B.Sc.

The following Chairmen of the State Advisory Committees were ex-officio members of the provisional General Advisory Council:
* New South Wales F. Leverrier, K.C.;
* Queensland J. B. Henderson, F.I.C.;
* Western Australia Professor J. W. Paterson, B.Sc., Ph.D.;
* Tasmania L. Rodway, C.M.G.;
* South Australia Professor E. H. Rennie, M.A., D.Sc.;
[Note: Victoria was represented by T.R. Lyle]

Related entries

Timeline

 1916 - 1920 Advisory Council of Science and Industry
       1920 - 1926 Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry
             1926 - 1949 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
                   1949 - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Published resources

Books

• Currie, George; Graham, John, The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government, 1901-1926 (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1966), 203 pp, https://ebooks.publish.csiro.au/content/origins-csiro. Details

Journal Articles

• Upstill, Garrett; Spurling, Thomas H.; and Healy, Terence J., 'CSIR and Australian industry, 1926-49', Historical Records of Australian Science, 32 (1) (2021), 52-66. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR20012. Details

Parliamentary Acts

• 'Institute of Science and Industry Act 1920', in Federal Register of Legislation, Australian Government, Canberra, ACT (online), 1920. https://www.legislation.gov.au/C1920A00022/asmade/text. Details
• 'Science and Industry Research Act 1926', in Federal Register of Legislation, Australian Government, Canberra, ACT (online), 1926. https://www.legislation.gov.au/C1926A00020/latest/text. Details

Reports

• Knibbs, George H., Institute of Science and Industry, Second Annual Report of the Director: for the period 1st July, 1922 to the 31st December, 1923 (Melbourne: Commonwealth Government Printer, ). https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Institute-of-Science-and-Industry-Second-Annual-Report-1922-to-1923.pdf. Details
• Knibbs, George H., Institute of Science and Industry, First Annual Report of the Director: for the period from the date of his appointment (18th March, 1921) to the 30th June, 1922 (Melbourne: Commonwealth Government Printer, 1922). https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Institute-of-Science-and-Industry-First-Annual-Report-1921-to-1922.pdf. Details

Resources

• Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-625377. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Primary description of agency CA 550; Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. Registration of entity: 22 September 1976', in RecordSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CA%20550. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_c.html. Details