Presidential Address. 



By C. T. White. F.L.tS. (Governnu'iit Botanist of Queensland.) 



{Delivered before the Royal Society of Queensland. 11th April. 



1922.) 



I HAVE taken as the scientific portion of my address a 

 ■ Contribution to our KJlo^\'ledge of the Flora of Papua 

 (British Ne^\■ Guinea),"' based on collections made there by me 

 in 1918, but before proceeding with this subject would like 

 to touch on a few matters of the past year of general interest 

 to scientific workers in Queensland. 



The Council's report for the past session shows that 

 satisfactory progress has been made. It was regrettable that 

 towards the end of the year the Council was obliged, owing to 

 lack of funds, to discontinue the publication of papers sub- 

 mitted. By a special (>ifort, however, the honorary treasurer 

 (the late Dr. Shirley) Avas able before the end of the year to 

 place our finances on a more satisfactory basis. 



A sad feature has been the loss by death of four members 

 of the Society. 



William J. By ram. A\ho died on the 10th March, 1922, 

 was a native of Brisbane. He was educated at the Brisbane 

 Grammar School, where in 1880 he won the Lilley Gold Medal as 

 head of the school. He Avas well I'Oiown in legal and business 

 circles in Brisbane. He A\'as a good classical scholar, and AA'ithin 

 the last few years of his life had produced a verse translation of 

 ^schylus' ■■ Prometheus Vinctus " so scholarly and so poetic, 

 especially iii the rendering of its choruses, that Prof. Gilbert 

 Murray (Oxford Professor of Greek), to whom it was submitted, 

 said he was proud to think it Avas the work of a fellow-country- 

 man (he himself being an Australian). The translation is now 

 in the Queensland University Library, where it may serve 

 as an incentive to future classical scholars. The late Mr. 

 Bj-ram was a keen microscopist, being especially interested 

 in Freshwater Algse, and helped the late F. M. Bailey in bringing 

 out the three bulletins of the Botany Series published by the 

 Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock devoted to 

 the FresliAA'ater Algae of Queensland, by translating from the 

 German the original descriptions forwarded to Mr. Bailey 

 from Eviropean specialists Avho had submitted to them the 

 material upon which the bulletins referred to were based. An 

 appreciation of the late Mr. Byram from the pen of Mr. R. H. 

 Roe, one-time head master of the Brisbane Grammar School 

 and later Director of Education in Queensland, appeared in 



