Virtual Issues
History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science: highlights from past AAHPSSS conferences
This Historical Records of Australian Science virtual issue has been curated in support of the 2023 conference of the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, affectionately known as AAHPSSS. Dating back to 1966, AAHPSSS is one of the oldest academic associations in Australia.
First up in this issue is an article by Libby Robin, based on her Dyason Lecture from 2021. This lecture is AAHPSSS’ signature annual event, named in honour of Diana ‘Ding’ Dyason, foundation President of the society.
The 2023 conference was hosted by the University of Sydney, one of Australia’s leading History and Philosophy of Science departments. Daniela Helbig and Maureen O’Malley’s article delves into the history of our discipline at this institution.
Nuclear concerns have been the subject of much conversation at recent AAHPSSS conferences, including at the 2023 meeting. Darren Holden’s article on the history of the USA’s nuclear weapons program touches on these issues, including Australian involvement and ideals of transparency.
The issue of this scientific ideal of openness – important for the metaresearchers at AAHPSSS – is also central to Terry Kass’ account of Robert Hamilton Mathews.
There is much recent interest in the flows of colonial science especially between India and Australia. Sara Maroske’s article is an important contribution to this literature.
My own article – originally presented at the 2019 AAHPSSS conference – touches on issues of the constitutional arrangement of Australian science that remain relevant today.
Dr. Martin Bush
Senior Research Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies
Making Waves: A Century of Australian Coral Reef Science
This virtual issue acknowledges the Hundred Year anniversary of the Australian Coral Reef Society (ACRS), which first met as the Great Barrier Reef Committee in Brisbane on 12th September 1922. The collection reflects on many years of dedication of reef scientists, members and councillors to advancing our understanding of, and protecting, coral reefs.
The first three papers chronicle the work of the GBR Committee and ACRS Councillors in providing expert advice, reviews, and enquiry submissions about pressing issues for Australia’s coral reefs.
The remaining papers tells the stories behind some major advances to reef science, including the work of women scientists, Australian drilling expeditions to establish reef foundations at Funafuti and the search for marine drug leads by Roche Research Institute of Marine Pharmacology at Heron Island.
As a companion volume, Coral Reefs of Australia, ACRS have produced a centenary collection of essays about living alongside Australia’s coral reefs from Indigenous Australians, coral reef scientists, historians, social scientists, managers and politicians.
These are exciting times in a disciplinary field with an extraordinary history. I hope you enjoy reading about it.
Dr Sarah Hamylton
President, Australian Coral Reef Society, Guest Editor
Histories of archaeology in Australasia and the Pacific
The articles in this virtual issue of Historical Records of Australian Science on the history of archaeology in Australasia and the Pacific have diverse origins.
Three are based on papers given at conference sessions organised by scholars associated with the ‘Collective Biography of Archaeology in the Pacific’ (CBAP) project, a project funded by the Australian Research Council through its Laureate Fellowship grant scheme, and by the Australian National University (ANU). Harry Allen’s article ‘Jack Golson, Roger Green and debates in New Zealand archaeology’ draws on a paper he delivered at ‘Trans-Tasman dialogues’, a combined conference of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) and the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA), held in Auckland in 2018.
An early version of ‘Reverend Voyce and Père O’Reilly’s excavated collection from Bougainville: a case study in transnational histories of archaeology in the Pacific’, authored by Eve Haddow, Emilie Dotte-Sarout and Jim Specht, was presented at the AAA conference ‘Disrupting paradise: the archaeology of the driest continent on earth’, held on the Gold Coast in 2019. Matthew Spriggs’ article ‘“Casey did very good work for Wheeler and you are lucky to have him”: Dermot Casey’s under-appreciated importance in the history of Australian archaeology’ draws on presentations at both of the above conferences.
‘The role of oral history in archiving archaeology: a case study from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia’, contributed by Caroline Spry, Jillian Garvey and Emmy Frost, arose from a moderated conversation between Australian archaeologists David Frankel, Jim Allen and Susan Lawrence, organised in 2017 as part of La Trobe University’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
‘Robert Edwards and the history of Australian rock art research’, contributed by Mike Smith, June Ross and Dick Kimber, was originally submitted to the journal as a stand-alone paper and subsequently assigned to this virtual issue by mutual agreement, given its relevance to the history of archaeology in Australasia and the Pacific.
Finally, ‘The historiography of Australian archaeology: a review’ was commissioned by the editors of Historical Records of Australian Science, as part of a series of review essays in the journal.
Hilary Howes and Matthew Spriggs
Guest Editors
International Year of Plant Health
In this special virtual issue of Historical Records of Australian Science we support the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). Plant health plays a vital role in ending global hunger, reducing poverty, protecting the environment, and boosting economic development. Successive Australian governments have placed a high priority on scientific research into plant health and this collection of articles exemplifies the quality of the work of Australian scientists. The articles discuss both processes that improve plant health and the careers of individual scientists who have played leading roles in research, education, policy and advocacy.
Sara Maroske and Ian Rae
Showcasing Mike Smith Prize winners
The Australian Academy of Science, in partnership with the National Museum of Australia, awards the Mike Smith Prize to recognise young scholars who are undertaking original research in the fields of the history of Australian science or Australian environmental history. Established in 2006 as a 'Student prize', the award was renamed in 2013 in recognition of desert field archaeologist Mike Smith, a well-known leader of his field, and mentor of young researchers. Since the award began the quality of submitted work has been very high and a number of the authors have subsequently progressed in their disciplines. Prize winners and highly commended contributors are encouraged to publish their work, and the authors of suitable prize essays have been invited to submit their work to the Academy’s journal, Historical Records of Australian Science. Six of these articles are reproduced here in a special virtual issue, to alert our readers to the positive outcomes for entrants, participating institutions and the disciplines of the history of Australian science and Australian environmental history. The call for submissions to the 2019–20 Mike Smith Prize is currently open.
Visit http://www.science.org.au/mike-smith-prize (external link) for information about the Mike Smith Student Prize for History of Australian Science or Australian Environmental History.
Showcasing the History of Australian Science
Historical Records of Australian Science has provided a place for historians to publish their research into Australian science for over 50 years. The journal’s more than 500 articles and memoirs have substantially defined what constitutes the history of science in Australia. In this Virtual Issue, published in association with the 4S Conference in Sydney, we offer a selection of recent articles that reveal how Australian historians have responded to transnational issues such as the spread of Western science, climate change, and communicating the history of science.
Reflecting Diversity: Fellowship and Women in the Australian Academy of Science
As in other national academies of science of the time, there were no founding women Fellows in the Australian Academy of Science in 1954. The constitution, however, was modelled on that of the Royal Society of London, which elected its first female Fellow in 1945.
Geologist and paleontologist Dorothy Hill became the first female Fellow of the Academy in 1956. She also served as the first female President in 1970. Three other women were elected in the 1960s and 1970s. The rate of fellowships began to pick up in the 1990s, and by the turn of the century new women were admitted every year. A hiatus in 2013 indicated that the academy could not be complacent about membership, and the current President, Andrew Holmes, and the Council, have aspirations for the Fellowship to reflect the diversity of senior academic appointments in Australia, and the diversity of society at large.
As a contribution to the 2017 Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) symposium, this Virtual Issue of the Academy’s journal Historical Records of Australian Science brings you memoirs of six pioneering female Fellows, and articles on Olive Pink (central Australian anthropologist and gardener), and two women chemists (Ruth Gall and Jean Youatt).
Sara Maroske and Ian Rae
