623 



The first ordinary -meeting of the fully constituted Society 

 was held on February 21, 1853, at the new City Council 

 Chamber, then situated at the back of the present Town 

 Hall. No rental was charged for the use of this room, and 

 afternoon meetings were held there every month, until the 

 close of 1858, when ,a change seems to have been made to 

 White's Commercial Rooms, where the Majestic Theatre now 

 stands. Its work began to attract immediate attention, and 

 resulted in the addition of such conspicuous men as the 

 Governor of the State, the Chief Justice (Sir Richard Hanson), 

 Sir George Stricklan-d Kingston, Sir Arthur Freeling, Dr. 

 Andrew Garran (another editor of The Register and subse- 

 quently editor of the Sydney Morning Herald). The Press 

 was well represented, and as a consequence the meetings 

 received full and eulogistic reports in the daily newspapers. 



One of the earliest matters to receive consideration was 

 the formation of a Museum to illustrate the natural history 

 of the colony; but the difficulty which prevented the idea 

 crystallizing into practical form, was the necessity of pro- 

 curing suitable premises, and the high cost of rentals. It was 

 suggested that the Government might possibly be willing to 

 assign a room in one of the public departments for this pur- 

 pose, and the matter was accordingly left in the hands of Mr. 

 B. H. Babbage to privately sound the Minister before making 

 formal application. Later on it was ascertained that the 

 Mechanics' Institute was contemplating a similar application, 

 and although the matter was left in abeyance by the Society 

 for the time being, it was never lost sight of, and frequently 

 claimed their consideration at subsequent meetings. 



Towards the close of 1853 the rules which had been in use 

 since the founding of 'the Society were reconsidered and a 

 series of "laws" substituted. The chief alterations had to 

 do with the formation of a Council or Executive body, 

 Hitherto a Chairman had been elected to conduct the business 

 of each meeting. Under the new laws, the officers consisted 

 of a President, twO' Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, and a 

 Secretary. They were elected annually and together consti- 

 tuted the Council. For a great many years after this, it 

 became the custom to elect the* Governor of the Province to 

 fill the chief position on the Council. There was only one 

 exception to this rule, when, owing to the transfer of His 

 Excellency Sir H. E. F. Young to Tasmania, B. H. Babbage 

 was elected to' the Presidency. 



At the end of the first year the membership stood at 

 35. The young Society was now planted firmly on its feet, 

 and in a position to state its objects and aspirations with a 

 considerable degree of precision. They were twofold. (1) 



