OF THE SOCIETY. 119. 



1913. 



The Van Die^neti s Land Scientific Society (1829). 



The Hobart Town Courier of liHli Decern l.er, 1829, 

 announced the formation of a Scientific Society in Hobart, 

 in the following paragraph : — 



"We have great jDleasure in announcing that a very use- 

 "ful society is now forming, called the Van Diemen's Land 

 "Society. It is to be constituted, we learn, in imitation of 

 "the Royal and other literary and scientific societies of 

 "Europe and India, and its chief objects are intended to 

 "be the collection of useful information regarding the 

 "island and its productions, so as to promote the prosperity 

 "of the colony — a museum of natural histoiy for the forma- 

 "tion of which Va,n Diemen's Land is so singularly adapt- 

 "ed, abounding as it does with new and unknown speci- 

 "mens in all the three kingdoms of nature, and — what we 

 "approve of more than all is — th© establishment of what 

 "has been called an Economic or Experimental Garden, or 

 "the cultivation of a piece of ground set apart for eliciting 

 "and discovering the properties and uses to w^hich the 

 "vegetable productions of the island may be applied, and 

 "to a.scertain the improvements which may be adopted 

 "in their cultivation-"' 



Ross's Hobart Toiun Almanac for 1830 contains a list 

 of the officers of the Society; His Excellency Colonel 

 Arthur was Patron ; Dr. John Henderson, President; Dr. 

 Adam Turnbull, M.D., Secretary and Treasurer. A meeting 

 for the election of new members was held on 15th January, 

 1830, (3) and on Saturday, 16th January, the "annual 

 meeting" was held in the Courthouse at 3 p.m. (4) In the 

 jjresence of the Patron, the President delivered his in- 

 augural address, in which, after taking a view of the bene- 

 fits likely to b© derived from the Society, h© "proceeded 

 "to remark on the ])resent state of the natural sciences, 

 "particularly as regards their nomenclature" ; and sug- 

 gested, in place of the existing nomenclature, "the substitu- 

 "tion of certain syllables and letters, of which might be 

 "compounded names expressive of th© diagnostic marks of 

 "each particular plant." Several members debated these 

 proposals; Dr. James Ross, LL.D., remarking that "what- 

 "ever new species might be discovered by the members 

 "would for m.any years to come readily find a plac© in the 



(3) Andrew Bent states in the next issue of the Colonial Times 

 that there were some differences among the members, and that four 

 leading citizens who were candidates were hlackballed on the ground 

 that they were engaged in "retail trade/' Regret for this occurrence 

 was recorded in the minutes of a later meeting. 



(4) Hobart Town Courier, 23rd January, 1830. 



