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Proceedings of the Royal Society for the month of April, 1881

Royal Society of Tasmania 1881 , 'Proceedings of the Royal Society for the month of April, 1881' , Papers & Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of Tasmania , i-v .

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Abstract

A monthly evening meeting of the Society, the first of the present
session, was held on Tuesday, the 12th April, His Excellency Sir John
Henry Lefroy, K.C.M.G., F.R.S, the President, in the chair.
Mr. Bernard Shaw, who had previously been nominated by the
Council, was balloted for, and declared duly elected as a Fellow of
the Society. Includes the time of leafing, flowering, and fruiting of a few standard plants in
the Botanic Gardens during January, February, and March :— Donations to the museum especially noting

From Mr S.H Wintle, a specimen of sandstone and slate was presented to the society from George's Bay.
In reference to this presentation, Mr. Wintle remarks: ”For a long
time the question of the age of the granite so extensively developed in
the stanniferous districts of the North-east Coast of this island has been
one of much interest for me. My efforts to obtain a clue to that age had
been unrewarded till about three years ago, when, near the head of
the Scamander River, I picked up a specimen of slate in contact with
granite". From Mr. T. Stephens, specimen of Eucalyptus cordata-
Mr. Stephens
remarked that this interesting tree, discovered and described long ago,
had been lost to sight for more than forty years. It was originally reported
as a denizen of Recherche Bay by the French expedition under
Labillardiere; and long afterwards, in Sir John Franklin's time, it
was found by Sir Joseph Hooker and the late Mr. Ronald Gunn "in
the Huon district," no precise locality having been recorded. From
that time to the present it appears to have eluded the search of
botanists; and it was only in October last that, in answer to repeated
enquiries, specimens were at last obtained from Recherche Bay, but
without flower or fruit. A few weeks later it was found by Mr. Hill,
on the Huon road, probably on the same spot where it was last seen.
Shortly after the date of this communication Eucalyptus cordata was
found by Mr. Stephens and Mr. Abbott on the foot hills of Mount Wellington
near the Huon road, within five miles of Hobart.
Mr. Stephens said that the Royal Society could not meet for the first
time since the death of the late Mr. Ronald Gunn without paying a
passing tribute (a more formal record being reserved for a future occasion)
to the memory of one whose name was intimately associated with
its earliest history. From the time of his arrival Mr. Gunn's name appears
associated with every early attempt to cultivate a knowledge of the
natural products and resources of the colony : in the department of
Botany he was one of the first pioneers, and for many years stood almost
alone. As a genial and kindly companion and friend, ready at all times
to place his stores of general and special information at the service of
any one interested in his favourite studies, he would long be remembered
by those who had, if only for a brief period, the advantage of his acquaintance
; while as an explorer of some of the wildest parts of Tasmania,
at a time when settlement in the north-western and western
districts had not yet begun, he had rendered important service to the
colony, and had had few to rival him since for indomitable energy and
fertility of resources. As one of the founders of the Royal Society his
name would always be held in honour in this place.

Item Type: Article
Authors/Creators:Royal Society of Tasmania
Keywords: Royal Society of Tasmania, Van Diemens Land, VDL, Hobart Town, natural sciences, proceedings, records
Journal or Publication Title: Papers & Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Collections: Royal Society Collection > Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Additional Information:

In 1843 the Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land was founded and became the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science in 1844. In 1855 its name changed to Royal Society of Tasmania for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science. In 1911 the name was shortened to Royal Society of Tasmania.

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