Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science


The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It awarded the Mueller Medal from 1904 until 2006, and continues to award the ANZAAS Medal, which it has awarded since 1965.

History

The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science was modelled on the British Association for the Advancement of Science. For many years, its annual meetings were a popular and influential way of promoting science in Australia and New Zealand.
Founders of the association in 1887-1888 include Archibald Liversidge and Horatio George Anthony Wright.
It held lectures for the medals and for other named lectures, both nationally and at state level.
It changed its name to Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science in 1930.
In the 1990s, membership and attendance at the annual meetings decreased as specialised scientific societies increased in popularity. Proposals to close the association were discussed, but it continued after closing its office in Adelaide.

Today

The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science now operates on a smaller scale. The annual meetings are no longer held.
Each year it organises Youth ANZAAS, an annual residential scientific forum attended by senior secondary students from Australian schools and high schools.

Awards

The Association has awarded two important medals; the Mueller medal, named in honour of Ferdinand von Mueller, botanist and pioneer environmentalist, and the ANZAAS medal.

Mueller Medal

The Mueller Medal was awarded annually to a scientist who is the author of important contributions to anthropological, botanical, geological or zoological science, preferably with special reference to Australia. It is named after Ferdinand von Mueller, the German/Australian botanist who was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Initiated in 1902, it was designed by Walter Baldwin Spencer. It was last awarded in 2006.

Recipients

The ANZAAS medal is awarded annually for services in the advancement of science or administration and organisation of scientific activities, or the teaching of science throughout Australia and New Zealand and in contributions to science which lie beyond normal professional activities.
Sculptor Andor Meszaros designed the Medal, which was first awarded in 1965.

Recipients

Youth ANZAAS is an annual residential scientific forum for senior Australasian secondary school students from Years 9, 10, 11 and 12. This event is designed to provide students with a broad perspective on the aims and practice of scientific endeavour, ranging from satisfying curiosity and the drive to discover, to the application of science in the real world. It gives students the opportunity to visit world-class facilities where cutting edge research is undertaken and meet leading scientists.
Recent forums have been:

Programs

ANZAAS – Australian Synchrotron Inaugural Winter School

The ANZAAS – Australian Synchrotron Inaugural Winter School was launched in July 2009. The four-day program aims to give young researchers – Honours, Masters and early PhD students – an understanding of synchrotron techniques and operation for research purposes. Participants attend lectures, tour the facility and perform beamline experiments that complement their lectures.

Publications

Report of the ... meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Australia and New Zealand. 1888–1930

  • 1st Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. August–September 1888 – Conference President – H.C. Russell
  • 2nd Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. January 1890 – Conference President – Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller
  • 3rd Meeting... Christchurch, New Zealand. January 1891 – Conference President – Sir James Hector
  • 4th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. January 1892 – Conference President – Sir Robert G.C. Hamilton
  • 5th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. September 1893 – Conference President – Prof Ralph Tate
  • 6th Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. January 1895 – Conference President – Sir Augustus Charles Gregory
  • 7th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. January 1898 – Conference President – Prof. Archibald Liversidge
  • 8th Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. January 1900 – Conference President – Lt Col. Robert L.J. Ellery
  • 9th Meeting... Hobart, Victoria. January 1902 – Conference President – Captain Frederick Hutton
  • 10th Meeting... Dunedin, New Zealand. January 1904 – Conference President – Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David
  • 11th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. January 1907 – Conference President – Alfred William Howitt
  • 12th Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. January 1909 – Conference President – Sir William Henry Bragg
  • 13th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. January 1911 – Conference President – Sir David Orme Masson
  • 14th Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. January 1913 – Conference President – Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David
  • 15th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. January 1921 – Conference President – Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer
  • 16th Meeting... Wellington, New Zealand. January 1923 – Conference President – Sir George Handley Knibbs
  • 17th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. August 1924 – Conference President – General Sir John Monash
  • 18th Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. August 1926 – Conference President – Prof. Edward Henry Rennie
  • 19th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. January 1928 – Conference President – Richard Hind Cambage
  • 20th Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. May–June 1930 – Conference President – Ernest Clayton Andrews

    Report of the ... meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science. 1930–1997

  • 21st Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. August 1932 – Conference President – Sir John Hubert Plunkett Murray
  • 22nd Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. January 1935 – Conference President – Sir Douglas Mawson
  • 23rd Meeting... Auckland, New Zealand. January 1937 – Conference President – Sir Albert Cherbury David Rivett
  • 24th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. January 1939 – Conference President – Sir Ernest Scott
  • 25th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. August 1940 / August 1946 – Conference President – Prof. P. Marshall
  • 26th Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. August 1947 – Conference President – Prof. A. E. V. Richardson
  • 27th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. January 1949 – Conference President – Arthur Bache Walkom
  • 28th Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. 1951 – Conference President – Professor Emeritus Sir Kerr Grant
  • 29th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. August 1952 – Conference President –
  • 30th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. January 1954 – Conference President – Sir Theodore Rigg
  • 31st Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. August 1955 – Conference President – Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley
  • 32nd Meeting... Dunedin, New Zealand. 1957 – Conference President – Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet
  • 33rd Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. August 1958 – Conference President – Sir Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant
  • 34th Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. 1959 – Conference President – Herbert Cole H.C. Coombs
  • 35th Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. May–June 1961 – Conference President –
  • 36th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. 1962 – Conference President –
  • 37th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. January 1964 – Conference President –
  • 38th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. 1965 – Conference President –
  • 39th Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. 1967 – Conference President –
  • 40th Meeting... Christchurch, New Zealand. 1968 – Conference President –
  • 41st Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. 1969 – Conference President –
  • 42nd Meeting... Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. 1970 – Conference President – Prof. Samuel Warren Carey
  • 43rd Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. 1971 – Conference President – Sir Gustav Victor Joseph Nossal
  • 44th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. 1972 – Conference President –
  • 45th Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. 1974 – Conference President – Prof. Eric John Underwood
  • 46th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. January 1975 – Conference President – The Hon. Mr Justice John Halden Wootten
  • 47th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. 1976 – Conference President – Prof. W.D. Barrie
  • 48th Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. 1977 – Conference President –
  • 49th Meeting... Auckland, New Zealand. 1979 – Conference President –
  • 50th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. 1980 – Conference President –
  • 51st Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. 1981 – Conference President –
  • 52nd Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. 1982 – Conference President – Sir Zelman Cowen
  • 53rd Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. 1983 – Conference President – Prof. Ralph Owen Slatyer
  • 54th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. 1984 – Conference President – Sir Gustav Victor Joseph Nossal
  • 55th Meeting... Melbourne, Victoria. 1985 – Conference President – Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
  • 56th Meeting... Palmerston, New Zealand. 1987 – Conference President – Sir David Stuart Beattie
  • 57th Meeting... Townsville, Queensland. 1987 – Conference President –
  • 58th Meeting... Sydney, New South Wales. 1988 – Conference President – Prof. Geoffrey Norman Blainey
  • 59th Meeting... Hobart, Tasmania. 1990 – Conference President – Dr. Brian H. Walker
  • 60th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. 1991 – Conference President – Prof. David Boyd
  • 61st Meeting... Brisbane, Queensland. 1992 – Conference President – Dr. Robyn Williams AM
  • 62nd Meeting... Perth, Western Australia. September 1993 – Conference President – The Hon. Barry Owen Jones
  • 63rd Meeting... Geelong, Victoria. September 1994
  • 64th Meeting... Newcastle, New South Wales. 1995
  • 65th Meeting... Canberra, ACT. 1996
  • 66th Meeting... Adelaide, South Australia. 1997
A 67th Meeting was scheduled for Hobart in 1998 but did not proceed.