SCIENCE CONGRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18277, 19 December 1922, Page 11

SCIENCE CONGRESS.

MEETING NEXT MONTH.

AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION

ITS ORIGIN AND ACHIEVEMENT.

BY PROFESSOR W. X. BENSON.

In the week following January 9, 1923, the members of the Australasian Association for tho Advancement of Science will be attending in Wellington its sixteenth meeting. The necessities of wartime caused the abandonment of the meetings between li'io and 1921, so that it is now 19 years sine© the association last met in New Zealand. This association is tho off-shoot of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, a body founded 90 years ago "to give a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific inquiry, to promote the intercourse of those who cultivate science in the different parts of the British Empire with one another, and to obtain a greater degree of national attention to the objects of science." Its membership was open to "all persons interested in scientific pursuits." So quickly did this association grow that it was divided at once into a number of sections, each in charge. of a single subject or group of subjects, and often after the discussion of these, recommendations would be made of great national value, or the endowment and! supervision of research in various branches ■would be undertaken. A notable feature of the activities of the association waa thus the appointment of research committees, which could carry forward on behalf of the association investigations in which the co-operation of many authorities -was required, and as a result of which a comprehensive report on the whole matter considered could be pre? pared. The association so won the confidence of the British Government that it has often adopted, and acted upon its advice and placed large sums of money in tho care of the association for the promotion of science. First Meeting in Sydney. It was in 1884 when, attention being directed to the peculiarly interesting features of Australasian biology, the possibility of holding a meeting in Australasia was first mooted, which was actually brought about in 1914. It was however, the spark which kindled the enthusiasm of Australasian scientists. The Australasian Association was organised on the British plan, largely through the efforts of Professor Liversidge, then secretary of the Royal Society of New South Wales, and the first meeting wa3 held in Sydney in 1887, and was attended by over 800 scientists coming from all parts" of Australasia. The forthcoming meeting will be the third to be held in New Zealand. Fifteen thick volumes record the work actually published by the association, before which over 1000 papers have been read, but oven these do not afford anything like a complete record of the work that has been more or less closely connected with its activities. Instead, therefore, of mentioning the many distinguished papers given by individual authors before the association, we shall comment briefly on what is much more its corporate work—namely,'the work of the vancus research committees that it has appointed from .time to time, and shall mention them in the order in which the various sections are placed on its list. Scope of Investigation. The section for astronomy, mathematics, and physics took charge of arrangements for the'eclipse expedition in 1910, moved the New Zealand Government to provide for the magnetic survey of the Dominion and the outlying islands, did much to correlate the "meteorological work of the various Australian States before these all ca-me- under the Federal Bureau, investigated the important question of exact longitude determinations in Australasia and the problem of the tides, and has now a committee investigating the forca of gravity and the strength of the earth's crust. From its initiation it took the responsibility of collecting and correlating the records of earthquakes, and supported the excellent investigations of the late Mr. Hogben, the secretary of the ■fieismological Committee. The chemical section has interested itself especially in promoting better methods of controlling the quality of foodstuffs and the improvement of metallurgical and other processes of chemical industry, and the recentlyorgarrised sub-Section for pharmacy will doubtless in: the future have its own j special problems for investigation. The j geological nection has always been an active one, and the committee investigating the past and present action of. glaciers shares with the Seismological Committed the honour of having boen actively at work since the initiation of the, association. To this hap ,been added at various times committees to consider uniform methods of nomenclature and mapping, and at present there are committees investigating past changes of climate, the origin pf land-forms, the broader features of the structure of the earth's i rost, the exact age and correlation of various formations, and the features of <jertain especially interesting, types of rolcanio j rocks throughout Australasia. J

Biological Research. The biological section has been very active in both its branches. It h;>s moved various Governments to realise the importance of preserving the native flora and fauna by the setting aside of sanctuary reserves (such as Itesol-uion Island, by Dusky Sound), and by suitable protective legislation. If has advocated the establishment of biologtcil research stations, and that at the Cass River, controlled by the Canterbury Philosophical Society, and the fish hatchery at Portobello, from which very important work has come, owe their origin in greater or less degree to _ the influence of the association. Under its.aegis, also, the investigation of the ooastil • fauna of New Zealand" has been carried out, and special attention has also been directed to the coastal fauna of' Australia. The history of botanical research has been notably enriched bv the recently-retired general secretary of the association, Mr. J. H. Maiden, whose numerous short biographies of the contributors to Australian botany threw many an interesting light on the condition under which, that splendid band of scientific pioneers carried on their work. The section. of history and geography has a notable record of work in connection with Antarctic research. In the nineties it obtained nearly £10,000, which unfortunately fell short ot Uie sum required to send an Australian unit r'own south with the ...wedish Antarctic Hxpedition ; but its desires were fulfilled when it was able to organise the support and to control the arrangements for Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, the scientific results of which are now being published under its auspices. It has, moreover, turned its attention to the application of modern geographical conceptions to 4 the determining of the most favourable distribution of population and industries throughout Australasia so as to obtain the greatest advantage from our geographical circumstance, and in this is in jctivo co-operation with the experts in meteorology and agriculture. Incidentally it may be remarked that it was at the suggestion of the association that the British Admiralty im-erted the name Tasman Sea in its charts.

In anthropology a' great amount of valuable material has been accumulated concerning the characteristics of the Australian and Pacific native races, investigations which need to be pushed forward now as vigorously as possible lest in the present rapidly changing cir:umstances much of the old material culture and old lore become lost for ever. It,is fortunate indeed that the chief Australian investigator in this subject, Sir Baldwin Spencer, will preside over the meetings l of this section in Wellington. But it is not only with matters which may be thought to be chiefly of academic interest that the association is concerned. Throughout the section for study of

economic science has been very actrv*. Indeed, the very first research committee set up by the association was to investigate the conditions of labour, especially in regard to strikes, and make suggestions as to their remedy. The section has held many important discussions, and in its published transactions are many papers of carefully-collected data concerning a wide variety of aspects of the economic life of the community. Probably no one has made more notable contributions to this than Mr. G. H. Knibbs. who, formerly director of technical education in New South Wales, and later Commonwealth Statistician, is now director of the Commonwealth Bureau of Science and Industry, and the president of the whole association for the Wellington meeting. Engineering Problems. In the section for engineering and ar. chitecture there have been valuable discussions of the problems of water supply and irrigation, of railway construction and town-planning, of domestic and other forms of architecture as influenced especially by Australasian conditions, and _in conjunction with the hygienic section there have been considered the best type of construction of school buildings and plates of amusement, of town drainage, and the disposal and utilisation of sewage. This latter section, that for sanitary science and hygiene, was also largely instrumental in the organisation of a Federal quarantine system, and has considered at various times the of control of infectious diseases, and especially tuberculosis, the improvement of the milk supply, and in co-operation with the next section, it has paid especial attention to the anthropometric study and care of the health of school children. In the section for mental sciences and education the many keen discussions thai have been held concerning the problems that have arisen have emphasised very greatly the value of the meeting together of the experts from many parts. But besides the more purely educational topics many questions of child welfare have been raised, and in particular the need of special schools, for special types of children was considered at the last session. Again, in association with the section for social science, the investigation of industrial fatigue was undertaken by this section. Primary Industries. The agricultural section has long been active. One of the earliest, investigations carried out by the association was that of rust in wheat; later, the means of fertilisation of figs attracted its attention, and now the climatic control of wheat production is being investigated by it, and the possibilities of the spread of cotton growing in Australasia. The re cently instituted special section for veterinary science commenced its research aotivities by joining with that of agriculture and hygiene to investigate and report upon uniform measures for the control of animal tuberculosis, and the first results of their deliberations on this very important topic will be presented to the meeting in Wellington. Thus the association has endeavoured truly to fulfil the ideal set before it by its first president, the study of all subjects that may promote our national advancement, and has well earned the support of all our thinking citizens. .The association is controlled by a Genera! Council consisting of representatives of all the scientific societies throughout Australia with over 50 members. Alembership of the association is open to all, and each member enjoys all tho privileges of membership, though the junior or associate" members do not receive a copy of its published proceedings. At the opening of a nession the General Council transacts- such business as is 'necessary to initiate the meeting, and on the first evening the president's address is delivered. On the "following evening, the sectional committees having arranged their programmes, tjhe presidential addresses are given in the various sections, and they then settle down to the work of discussing the various papers that are read before them, or the work of the research committees, or holding joint sessions wjth other sections to discuss matters of mutual interest. This occupies the mornings during tho week the meeting is in progress; the afternoons are given over to social functions or excursions to places of interest, while in the evenings are generally public lectures on matters of general interest by notable visiting scientists. Then the various sections wind up their business, make such recommendations for the furtherance of research as seem required, and these are considered finally by the General Council, who determines the amount of financial support that can be given to the various lines of research that make claim upon it. It is then left to the various research committees' so appointed, and to the editorial committees to carry forward their several duties by correspondence or other means until next meeting of the association two years later. Usually the Government which is the host for any meeting undertakes the publication of the reports of that meeting, and the subscriptions of the members are devoted to the prosecution of the various lines of research approved, and to tho expenses of the meeting, of which it should be mentioned all officers,are entirely honorary.