Prof. David Adams Lecture

VIDEO ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54xxMkX_VIo

 

Professor David Adams presented the Northern Branch monthly lecture for the Royal Society of Tasmania on Sunday, 26 July 2026, at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) Inveresk. [

Lecture Overview

• Title: “What Counts as Valuable Knowledge Nowadays, and Who Counts It?” [1]
• Core Theme: The presentation explored how modern, evolving claims to knowledge challenge historic or traditional assumptions. [1, 2]
• Key Topics: Contoured contemporary concepts including alternative facts, community/place knowledge, first nations knowledge, influencer knowledge, and lived experience. [1, 2]
• Focus: An analysis of why these newer forms of collective and localized knowledge claims are rapidly emerging in civic life and public discourse

The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its "mission" was the "advancement of knowledge".

The Royal Society of Tasmania was originally founded in 1843 by Lieutenant Governor Sir John Eardley-Wilmot with the aim to "develop the physical character of the Island and illustrate its natural history and productions".

Original Goals and Activities Colonial Gardens: Set up initially to administer and manage the Colonial Gardens in Hobart (later known as the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens).

Natural History: Aimed to document, study, and illustrate the local plant life, geology, and wildlife of Van Diemen's Land.

Collections and Research: Established early collections of natural history and artifacts that laid the foundation for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Broad Inquiry: Held monthly meetings covering practical and scientific topics ranging from agriculture and meteorology to mapping and public health.Would you like to know more about the Royal Society of Tasmania and its connection to the founding of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery?

The QVMAG grew directly out of the early collections gathered by the Launceston Mechanics Institute and the Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania.