BY ALEX. MORTON. 115 



merged in that which is represeoted here to-nioht. Exit, 

 therefore, the Tasmaniau Society, having honourably fulfilled 

 its mission. 



On the 14<th Oct., 1813, the Royal Society of Van Diemen's 

 Land foi Horticulture, Botany, and the Study of Science, was 

 formed with the help of Sir Eardley-Willmot, Bart. Its first 

 work was the holding of two Horticultural Shows, which were 

 very successful, but a Horticultural Society being after that 

 formed by the professional gardeners of Hobart, the shows 

 were discontinued, and exhibits were instead sent to the shows 

 of the new society. HerMajestj the Queen became the patron 

 of the Society; the Government placed a lai'ge part of the 

 garden in the Domain at the disposal of the members, and 

 made a grant of .£400 a year, for the purpose of paying its 

 officers and promoting its objects generally. At the end of 

 1845 the Secretary resigned, and Sir Eardley Wilniot, then 

 Lieut. -Governor, fought strenuously to raise the Society from 

 a horticultural to a more scientific one, as being more in 

 accord with the idea of a Eoyal Society, to which Her Majesty 

 had given her patronage. He opposed the appointment of 

 any secretary who should be a mere clerk, and said the 

 Secretary of a Royal Society should not only be able to meet 

 the members on terms of equality, but should be a man who 

 could be on a par with men of science anywhere. As a suit- 

 able man was not at the moment to be found, one of the 

 vice-presidents, the Rev. Dr. Lillie, undertook the duties 

 gratuitously for a time, and eventually Dr. Milligan was 

 appointed, whose devotion and a,ttainmeats made the Society 

 what it has since remained— an honour to Tasmania and 

 Australasia. 



For a time the principal interest centred round the 

 Gardens, but in 1846 it was decided to begin a collection of 

 natural history specimens for a museum. A room in the 

 Legislative Council Chambers held the beginnings of this 

 museum, and in 1849 the Government granted a sum of 

 dfilOO towards its support, from which time the Museum was 

 formally recognised, and its usefulness has grown apace, 

 until the very popular institution of which I have the honour 

 to be Curator holds a firm place in the affections of the people 

 of Tasmania. The first Journal of the Proceedings of the 

 Royal Society was published in 1851, and the statistics of 

 the colony, dealt with by Mr. James Barnard, afford interest- 

 ing data for comparison with those of to-day, especially 

 those of education. The Church of England had 35 schools 

 on the penny-a-day system, the Roman Catholics 4, and 

 in these denominational schools 1812 children were educated. 

 In the Government Board Schools 1,080 children were taught, 

 and 194 in infant schools ; while 460 children attended the 



