.April, 1926 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
73 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATURALISTS’ CLUB 
CLUB MOVEMENT IN QUEENSLAND. 
nioad by T. AVJiite at tJie Atniual .Meethifi' oi‘ 
the Queensland Naturalists’ (dub. 2‘2nd February. Ib2(i.) 
This being our t\v(‘ntietli Annual Meeting, it may 
not be deemed out of '))laee to i)ut on record a few brief 
notes on the history of the Naturalists’ (Tub iintvement 
in Queensland. 
The first Field Naturalists’ (Tub in (Queensland was 
formed at the instance of Mr. IT. Tryon as a seeti<ui of 
the Ivoyal Society of (Queetisland, tlie first meeting being 
iield on th(‘ 6th Oidober. 1886. The section was a field 
club in more tlian name oidy, for in the first annual 
re])ort. presented in July, 1887. it is recorded that during 
the first nine months of the section’s existence only 
tJiree evening meetings wei-e held, but nineteen field 
excursions, and the ])i‘ogranime as revealed l)y tln^ 
minute ])ook shows, even during the midsummer months 
of December and January, field meetings were held 
at least once every fortnight. After a brief 
period of activity, however, interest in tlie 
section seems to have waned, and only tlie 
botanists retained their interest in the section, 
for in the- Brisbane .‘("’ourier” of the 26th May. 1887, 
there is an account of an excursion to Tlelidon. in Avhich 
the recorder states: '‘(3ur branch of llie Royal Society, 
formed tvith a flourish of trum'pets and boasting a roll 
of fifty-odd members, never saw more than twenty in 
the fiidd. These divid(*d al)out equally into botanists 
and zoologists. Mr. F. M. Bailey captained tin* tormer, 
and Mr. TVyori acted as guide, philosoidmr and friend 
to the latter, (ji'adually the zoologists fell off one by 
one. or deserted to the botanists, until the plant-bnnters 
secured the Avhole fiehl to tliemselves.” 
The botanists r<uuained active for a uum])er of years, 
but intei'est iu tlie section gi'adually fell off. The last 
excursion was one to Fnminidi, in the Easter of 18T4, 
when oidy three nienibei's were ])rcsent — the late Mr. 
F. M. Bailey (leader), Mr. T. II. ftimmonds, sen., and the 
late Mr. (ieo. Watkins. 
At the beginning of 1892 a society was established 
under the name of the “Natural History Society of 
