THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, SYDNEY. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS DELIVERED BY H. C. EUSSELL, B.A., C.M.G., P.R.S., Government Astronomer for New South Wales. MAY 4TH, 1892. •SkíuiíK : r. W. WHITE, PBIMTER, MARKET STBKIT. 1892. 5û^ p ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. By H. C. Russell, b.a., c.m.g., f.r.s. [^Delivered to the Royal Society of N.S. Wales, May 4,1892.'] This is the third time that I have had the honour of addressing you from the President's Chair, and I can only regret that I am unable to bring to the duties which devolve upon me the qualifi¬ cations which, in my opinion, the President of a large and influential Society like ours should possess. I had proposed to myself as a subject for this address a short résumé of the results of scientific work in New South Wales during the past year, but I soon found that the subject was far too large, unless I could count upon your undivided attention for three or four hours. That, of course was out of the question, and I have made an efibrt to condense it to the ordinary limits of an address from this Chair, and, I fear, that in many places I have been obliged to omit much that would, under other circumstances, have been interesting to you and most valuable as a record for reference. It is a matter for congratulation that our Society maintains its position, and is increasing its influence, and that in spite of the general depression which has brought about the resignation of many members, we have not only kept up, but considerably increased our members during the past year. We have lost by death one honorary and eleven ordina,ry mem¬ bers. Eleven have resigned, and no less than eighteen have ceased to be members by non-payment of subscriptions, making a loss of forty contributing members. On the other hand we have gained by election sixty-one new members ; so that while we had on the roll at the end of last year four hundred and fifty- ^leven, they number to-night four hundred and seventy-eight. ' )f those who have passed away several were of world-wide fame= ■ md held in very high esteem amongst us. A—Maj 4, 1893. 2 h. c. bussell. Honorary Member: Sir George Biddell Airy, m.a., f.b.s. Ordinary Members: Elected. Died. 1884, 4 Jan. 1892 Abbott, T. K., Allwood, Rev. Canon, b.a., Campbell, Alexander, Collie, Rev. Robert, f.l s., Dclarue, L. H., Hay, Sir John, k.c.m.g., m.l.c., m.a., Josephson, J. Frey, f.g.s., Neill, William, Robertson, Thomas Wilkinson, C. S., f.g.s., f l.s., Woodhouse, E. B., 1877, 1 Aug. 1891 1856, 27 Oct., 1891 1876, 8 Nov. 1891 1878,18 Apr. 1892 1881,12 July 1891 1874, 20 Jan. 1892 1863, 26 Jan. 1892 1873, 24 Mar. 1892 1871, 1 Oct. 1891 1874, 26 Aug. 1891 1879, 23 July 1891 The Society has sustained a great loss in the death of one of its most distinguished Honorary Members. Sir George Biddell Airy, m.a. Cantab. Senior Wrangler and First Smith's Prizeman, k.c.b. D.c.l. Oxont, ll.d. Cantab, et Edin., f.r.s. ; made Fellow in 1836, and 1871 to 1873 President of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1830 to 1886 ; Presi¬ dent of the Royal Astronomical Society five times ; one of the «ight Foreign Members of the French Institute ; Corresponding Member of many foreign academies, die., die.; received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society 1831. Twice he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. Received the Lalande Medal of the French Académie des Sciences. Was awarded the Albert Medal of the Society of Arts, and in 1875 was presented with the Freedom of the City of London. George Biddell Airy was born 27th July 1801, and died Jan. 1892. Very early in his school days he gave indications of his great mathematical ability, and having acquitted himself with great credit at school, in 1819 he entered Trinity College, Cam¬ bridge, as a sizar. His college career was a most distinguished one. In 1822 he was made a Foundation Scholar, and in 1823 graduated as Bachelor of Arts with the honours of Senior Wrangler and First Smith's Prizeman, coming out so far ahead of the second ANNIVESSABY ADDRESS. 3 man that virtually he was without a rival competitor. In 1824 he was made a Fellow of Trinity College and appointed to the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics. Here he distinguished himself by his contributions to " Optics." In one of his papers at this time he announced his discovery of an optical malady of the human eye, now known as " astigmatism," and provided a remedy for it. In 1828 he resigned his position to accept that of Flumian Professor of Astronomy and Superintendent of the newly-erected Cambridge Observatory. His ability, energy, and singularly methodical habits introduèed so many improvements into obser¬ vatory practice in this position as to make this period of his life quite an epoch in modern astronomy. In 1835, Mr. Pond, the Astronomer Royal died, and the Prime Minister at once conferred the appointment upon Mr. Airy. The appointment warrant contained the old clause which had been in the first warrant of appointment of Astronomer Royal for England in which he was directed " to apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying the tables of the motions of the heavens and the places of the fixed stars in order to find out the so much desired longitude at sea for the perfecting the art of navigation." Greenwich Observatory was established two hundred and seventeen years ago, and Mr. Airy throughout the forty years he was Astronomer, felt that his primary duty was to carry out these instructions. It is needless to say that in his new capacity he entirely reorganized the Observatory : furnished it with new and powerful instruments of his own design, and from time to time added new departments—extrameridian observations, spectroscopy, solar photography, magnetism, meteorology, &c.,&c., as the progress of science demanded. Time would fail me to even give a mere outline of his varied and invaluable labours. Perhaps the strongest testimony is found in the fact that Green wich became by the force of his strong individuality the model Obser¬ vatory for Europe and America, and eventually modified the systems of working in most other Observatories. Outside his 4 H. C. RUSSELL. observatory labours Sir (Jeorge Airy's ever active mind produced an endless stream of contributions to the furtherance of science. So early as 1857, he gave an oral statement to a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society on the means which would be avail¬ able for correcting the Sun's distance—one of the fundamental factors in astronomy, during the following twenty-five years. He repeatedly engaged in experiments in mines and on mountains to determine the density of the earth. He devoted a great deal of time to the reduction of tidal observations and published a masterly treatise on tides and waves. He undertook the printing of the account of the verification and extension of Lacailles arc of the meridian by Sir Thomas Maclear, and edited many other works, and with Prof. Struve determined a great arc of the meridian, from the Ural River to Valencia. In 1845 Mr. Airy was appointed one of three members of a Royal Commission to test the merits of railway gauges then in use, the report embraced the whole question, and the difficulties of break of gauge were duly considered, and finally after acknow¬ ledging that in some respects the broad gauge was to be preferred, recommended that as the majority of railways had adopted the narrow gauge, it alone should be maintained and permitted in all railways then under construction or hereafter to be constructed in Great Britain, and the transfer of the Great Western Railway trafic in this year to the narrow gauge is a striking comment on the wisdom of the report of the Royal Commission. He was Chairman of the Commission appointed to consider the general question of Standards, and of the Commission intrusted with the superintendance of the new standards of weight and length, after the great fire which destroyed the Houses of Parliament in 1834. To the testing and improvement of Marine Chronometers Sir George devoted a great deal of time and with most beneficial results to the accuracy of navigation. He contributed more than two hundred valuable papers to the Royal Astronomical Society and numerous contributions to other societies and publications, and published several books, perhaps the best known is that founded akniversaky address. 5 on six lectures on Astronomy delivered at the Museum at Ipswich, His great scientific reputation was acknowledged by several foreign Governments and many honorary titles were conferred upon him. He was a Chevalier of the Order Pour le Mérite of Prussia, of the Legion of Honour of France, of the Polar Star of Sweden, of the Danneborg of Russia, of the Rose of Brazil &c., and in 1871 he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen at Osborne. But though Sir George was so much honoured, he was really a man of essentially simple nature and habits, and cared little for the social advantages of his position. Although it is unusual for your President to refer in the annual address to the death of anyone not a member, I am sure that in departing in this instance from that rule I shall have the con¬ currence of every member present, when I express on behalf of our Council and the members generally profound regret at the great loss which science has sustained by the death on 7th Decem¬ ber last of Sir William Macleay, who for so many years held the foremost position in this community in the promotion of science. He was the father of the Linnean Society, and was fitly spoken of by a member of that body " as at once its head and its heart." For many years he provided the Linnean Society with a hired home, with the money for current expenses, and special investigations, and he finally built for it its present com modious home, which he presented to the Society in October 1885 as a free gift. Finally he gave the Society X6,000 as a fund, the interest of which should cover current expenses, and he placed a further sum of £35,000 in the hands of the Linnean Society as trustees, who are to use the interest of this sum for the establishment of four " Linnean Fellowships," each of the annual value of £400, tenable only for one year, but renewable at the will of the Council. At infinite pains and great cost he collected a Natural History Museum, valued at £25,000, this ti^ether with a sum of £6,000 to provide a salary for the curator he presented to the University, and at his death bequeathed a further sum of £12,000 to the University for the purpose of 6 h. c. russell. establishing a Chair of Bacteriology. Altogether his contributions to science must exceed £100,000. During the later years of his life he had offered science fellowships to students of natural history and several were granted. In 1875 Sir William was elected a fellow of the University Senate, and as a Senator he invariably threw the weight of his great personal influence and knowledge into the science schools. Few men in this world have ever thrown themselves and their fortune more unreservedly into the cause of science. We have sustained another great loss by the death on 26th August, 1891, of Charles Smith Wilkinson, late Government Geologist. Mr. Wilkinson was born in Northamptonshire in 1843, and was the fourth son of the late David Wilkinson, c.e., who was one of the associates of George Stephenson in designing the improvements in locomotive engines. In 1852 Mr. David Wilkinson decided to make his home in Australia, and accordingly proceeded there with his family, and settled in Melbourne as a civil engineer. Here he took a very active part in promoting engineer" ing works in the young colony. He was instrumental in starting the first steamboat company on the Upper Yarra, and took an active interest in the introduction of railways. Mr. C. S. Wilkinson's early school days were spent at Ebly, near Stroud in Gloucester¬ shire, a county abounding in remarkable geological formations, vdiich almost from his infancy possessed a great attraction for him. In Melbourne his education was continued in a Collegiate school under the Rev. T. P. Fenner, m.a. Through his school life he devoted his whole attention to work, and carried off many prizes in Latin, French, geography, mapping, and Divinity. In December 1859, being then only sixteen years old, he was offered a position in the Geological Survey OflSce by Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn, f.g.s., Director of the Geological Survey Department. Nothing could have been oflTered more congenial to his tastes, and he at once accepted it. In 1861 he was made field assistant to Mr. Richard Daintree, f.g.s.. Geological Surveyor who was then carrying out ANNIVERSABY ADDRESS. 7 the Geological Survey from Bass' Straits northwards, including the districts of Geelong, Bacchus Marsh, Werribee, Bailan, Steiglitz Meredith, and Leigh River. The geology of these districts is a sort of epitome of that of the whole Colony, and studied as it was under the guidance of Mr. Selwyn and Mr. Daintree, proved to be a most important school for the young geologist, and one that he made the best possible use of. In 1863 Mr. Wilkinson with Mr. R. A. F. Murray who is now Government Geologist for Vic¬ toria, as field assistant, was dispatched in charge of a party to survey and explore the then almost unknown Cape Otway Moun¬ tains, which consist of ooHtic and coal formations. Amongst the interesting discoveries made during this period was a new phocodon or squalodon, which ProTessor McCoy named Squalodon wilkinsoni, and a description of it was published in the Prodromus of the Palueontology of Victoria. In 1866 Mr. Wilkinson was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. R. Daintree, who left to take charge of the Geological Survey of Queensland. In the same year while engaged upon the geological survey of the Leigh River, south of Ballarat, Mr; Wilkinson made a most careful investigation relat¬ ing to the deposition of gold, and the formation of gold nuggets, a work of great value, which was embodied in a paper read before tiie Royal Society of Victoria, which paper has been referred to by Sir Roderic Murchison, Prof Ulrich, and others. At this time, Mr. Wilkinson was prostrated by a severe attack of inflammation of the lungs, brought on by a cold caught while working with Mr. Selwyn at the geology of the Grampian Moun¬ tains, and in 1868 he resigned his appointment in order to take a much needed rest, and he continued without official position for four years, the greater part of which time was spent at Wagga Wagga, in this Colony, where he regained his health and decided to join the Survey Department here. He came to Sydney in 1872, passed the examination for a license to survey, and was appointed licensed surveyor and sent by the then Surveyor General Mr. P. F. Adams, to make some surveys in the newly discovered tin. s H. C. RUSSELL. mining districts of New England. I well remember Mr. Adams shewing Mr. Wilkinson's report on the tin country to me, and his expression of satisfaction, that he had obtained such a valuable officer. That good opinion increased upon acquaintance, and a year later Mr. Wilkinson was appointed G-eoIogical Surveyor in the Survey Department, in order that he might devote the whole of his time to a work for which he was so well fitted. In 1875 he was made Geological Surveyor in the then newl^ organized Department of Mines. From that time onwards Mr. Wilkinson marked his career by intense application to the study of that science which both inclination and duty called him to follow. Some indication of the success of that work is found in his success¬ ful creation and organization of the Geological Department and the Museum in connection therewith, of which he was without doubt the founder, and in the multitude of valuable contributions to science which are left as a record of his untiring energy and zeal. He was the first to urge upon the Government, for geological reasons, the necessity for seeking subterranean waters in our western districts, and the first bore for water was put down under his direction. The end came unexpectedly ; he had it is true, been ailing for some time, but he thought it was nothing more serious than a passing fit of indigestion, and he made all arrangements to go on an official visit to the silver mines. Meanwhile the symptoms of disease became so severe that he was obliged to rest, and instead of gaining strength as he anticipated, he became rapidly worse, and in a few weeks passed away. He was a sincere Christian and gave much of his spare time to the elucidation of the connec¬ tion between science and religion, and in his later years at Burwood, had a class of working men to whom he regularly lectured on every available Sunday afternoon upon geology in its bearing upon religion. He was a truly scientific man, unosten¬ tatious but enthusiastic in his work, and at all times ready to help those who needed it. In manner, courteous and kind, a cheerful and pleasant companion, he was the friend of every one who ANNIVEBSABT ADDRESS. 9 knew him. I cannot better express the estimation in which Mr. Wilkinson was held by his colleagues and the public, than by quoting what Mr. Geological Surveyor David, now Professor in the University, said in a letter to the Government Geologist, Mr. Pittman ; " While reiterating my feeling of gratitude to my late chief, Mr. C. S. Wilkinson, conveyed in my formal resignation, I am forced to admit that it is impossible for me to express in words all that I owe to him. It was not only his skill as a field geologist, but also his large hearted love of humanity, his unselfish- nessand unvarying courtesy which endeared him to us his colleagues, as well as to the whole mining community and people of New South Wales." Mr. Wilkinson received many honours, in 1863 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Victoria ; in 1874, a fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales; in 1876, a fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a fellow of the Linnean Society of London ; in 1880, a fellow of the Linnean Society of New South Wales ; in 1883 and 1884, he was President of the Linn¬ ean Society of New South Wales; in 1887, President of the Royal Society of New South Wales; in 1885, he was made a fellow of the Victoria Institute, London. In 1872 he published a work on the Geology of New South Wales. In 1888 he represented New South Wales at the Mineral Exhibition, held in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. He was a member of the Government Pro¬ specting Board, a duty involving great responsibility. A member of the Board of Technical Education. A Trustee of the Austra¬ lian Museum, àc. The following list of lectures, addresses, papers