ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 7 



annual meeting by their Vice-President Dr. J. C. Cox : " , 

 Mr. William John Stephens, m.a., Oxon., came to this Colony in 

 the year 1856, at the age of 27, to assume the Headmastership of 

 the Sydney Grammar School, which had just been founded, to the 

 position of which he had been elected on the recommendation of 

 Dr. Jowett. After ten years work at the Grammar School he 

 resigned his headmastership and established a school of his own 

 in Darlinghurst Road, which was known as the "New School," 

 and afterwards as "Eaglesfield." This school he continued to con- 

 duct till his appointment in 1882 to the Professorship of Natural 

 History at the Sydney University, the title of which was after- 

 wards changed, upon a redistribution of work on the foundation 

 of certain additional Chairs, to that of Geology and Palaeontology. 



" For a period of nearly 85 years then Professor Stephens lived 

 in our midst, labouring uninterruptedly in the cause of higher 

 education, yet finding time and inclination to give the Colony at 

 large the benefit of his extensive knowledge and experience by his 

 connection with several of our important public institutions, such 

 as the Public Library, of which he was Chairman of Trustees, 

 and the Australian Museum, of which he was a member of the 

 Board. For a time also he was President of the Sydney Branch 

 of the Geographical Society of Australasia. In his favourite pur- 

 suit of Natural Science he was actively identified, firstly with the 

 Entomological Society of New South Wales, and afterwards with 

 its successor the Linnean Society of New South Wales, dating 

 from its inception, having been a member of Council during the 

 years 1875-76, President in 1877-78, Vice-President in 1879-80, 

 Co- Honorary Secretary in 1881-84, and again President from 1885 

 to the close of his life in November 1890. His contributions to 

 the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of N.S. W. include seven 

 Presidental addresses in addition to a number of important papers 

 bearing on Geology and allied subjects." 



Professor Stephens was in 1857, a member of the Philosophical 

 Society of N.S.W., the forerunner of this Society and for a time 

 one of its Hon Secretaries. In this capacity he edited the volume 



