August 21, 2015The Clarke Memorial Lecture
The Clark Memorial Lecture is delivered by the most recent winner of The Clarke Medal.
The Medal and Lecture were founded in memory of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the fathers of the Royal Society of New South Wales. When the Philosophical Society of New South Wales was reorganized and converted into the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1866, the Rev. W.B. Clarke, because of his acknowledged eminence as a geologist and his scientific services to the Colony, was elected a joint Vice-President, a position which he held until his death on 16 June 1878. This meant that he was effectively the organizer of the Society, as at that time the Governor was ex-officio President. Some Governors did take a specific interest, attending meetings and taking part in discussions.
When funds permitted the Clarke Memorial Lectures in geology were commenced, but at first they were not given regularly. The first Lecture was delivered on 24 September 1903 by Professor T.W. Edgeworth David, his address being most appropriately titled “The Life and Work of the Rev. W.B. Clarke”. In October 1906 a series of lectures was delivered by Professor E.W. Skeats of Melbourne University, one on “The Volcanoes of Victoria” and two on “The Origin of Dolomite”. There were five Lectures during 1907, and one each in 1918 and 1919.
In 1935 a Clarke Memorial Fund Permanent Advisory Committee was appointed by the Council of the Society, and, on its recommendations, Dr. W.G. Woolnough was asked to deliver a Clarke Memorial Lecture. This lecture, titled “The Aeroplane in the Service of Geology”, given on 20 March 1936 in Science House, Sydney, was the first for 19 years and the first to be published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Society, thereby establishing a custom followed today.
Clarke Memorial Lectures were delivered annually from 1936 to 1951, and since 1951 were delivered approximately every second year. Since 2018, with the Clarke Memorial Lecture now aligned with the awarding of the Clarke Medal, the Clarke Lecture has been delivered annually.
| Year & Lecturer | Year & Lecturer |
| 1903 T.W.E. David 1906 E.W. Skeats (2 lectures) 1907 T.W.E. David (2 lectures) 1907 W.G. Woolnough 1907 E.F. Pittman 1907 W.S. Dun 1918 R.J.A. Berry 1919 T.W.E. David 1936 W.G. Woolnough 1937 H.C. Richards 1938 C.T. Madigan 1939 Sir John S. Flett 1940 E.J. Kenny 1941 C.A. Süssmilch 1942 E.C. Andrews 1943 H.G. Raggatt 1944 W.H. Bryan 1945 E.C. Hills 1946 L.A. Cotton 1947 H.S. Summers 1948 Sir Douglas Mawson 1949 W.R. Browne 1950 F.W. Whitehouse 1951 A.B. Edwards 1953 M.F. Glaessner 1955 R.O. Chalmers 1957 A.H. Voisey 1959 D.E. Thomas 1961 J.A. Dulhunty |
1965 A.A. Öpik 1967 S.W. Carey 1969 A.E. Ringwood 1971 D.H. Hill 1973 K. Rankama 1975 K.S.W. Campbe1l 1977 J.F.G. Wilkinson 1979 G.H. Taylor 1981 R.W.R. Rutland 1983 R.H. Vernon 1985 R.L. Stanton 1987 J.J. Veevers 1989 E. Scheibner 1991 B. Webby 1993 B.W. Chappell 1995 R. Taylor 1997 R.W. Johnson (not published) 1999 R. Arculus 2001 G. Packham 2007 D.F. Branagan and R.M. MacLeod 2009 K. Lambeck 2011 J.F. Dewey 2015 W. Griffin 2018 E. Johnston 2019 D. Müller 2020 M. Leishman 2021 R. J. Aitken 2022 A. Baker |
