VOL. LVI., No. 1. 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of 
Queensland. 
Presidential Address: 
A RETROSPECT OF MODERN PSYCHIATRY. 
By John Bostock, M.B., B.S., D.P.M., Department of Medical 
Psychology, University of Queensland. 
(Delivered before the Royal Society of Queensland , 21th March , 1944.) 
Before proceeding with the Presidential address of the Royal 
Society of Queensland, which I am privileged to give, I wish to place 
on record two outstanding events which have occurred during the past 
twelve months. 
The government, through our Premier, the Hon. F. A. Cooper, has 
made a substantial grant to the library of the Royal Society, in order 
to assist in the preservation of our records which are regarded as being 
of vital importance to the scientific world of Queensland. With regard 
to the war, it will interest all members to know that your president and 
the council pledged themselves to assist not merely in the war effort 
but also in any scheme for the improvement of library facilities in our 
state. 
The year has seen the passing of the first secretary of the Society, 
Mr. Henry Tryon. It is regretted that he did not live to present an 
account of those early days. He Rad promised to do this. No reference 
to Mr. Tryon would be adequate without mention of the sterling qualities 
he possessed. Among them were his perseverance in the face of obstacles, 
his courage and the wide variety of his scientific interests. 
THE ADDRESS. 
In choosing as my theme for this evening “A Retrospect of Modern 
Psychiatry,” it has been my desire to introduce one which illustrates that 
wide scope of enquiry which not merely underlies the scientific ideal 
but is the guiding principle of the Royal Society itself. Whilst no one 
can deny the advantages of specialism, there is no doubt of the danger 
that it may be purchased at the price of isolationism. All too frequently 
we are dragooned by the urgent necessities of our calling and the 
limitations of the time factor into an intellectual privacy which has 
harmful results. The meetings of our Society are a valuable means of 
combatting this tendency. 
It will be my endeavour to show in this study that psychiatry 
illustrates the wide variety of scientific contacts which are necessary if 
progress is to ensue. Attention will be drawn to certain principles of 
research. To-day we are apt to think of streamlined systems which 
flow inexorably if not effortlessly to a desired conclusion. This does 
not apply to research which is often hampered by over-planning. 
