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History of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia
Founded 10th July 1885
The Society was founded in Adelaide on 10 July 1885, and held its first meeting in October of that year. It was originally intended as a branch of the "Geographical Society of Australasia", which had been founded in Sydney two years earlier. Thus the present RGSSA was originally the "Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch) Inc. However, the 'parent' organisation never developed after its early start, but the South Australian Branch went from strength to strength, as the "branch without a tree" (see Publications). In 1996 the Society came fully of age by adopting its present name and separate status.
Sir Samuel Davenport, the First President of the Society.
The original objects of the Society came under five headings:
- Scientific - including exploration
- Commercial - promotion of commerce through the study of natural and manufactured products
- Educational - to spread geographical knowledge to the public through lectures and publications
- Historical - to collect and publish records and memoirs relevant to historical geography
- Compilation, from reliable data, of the geography of Australasia.
In the early years, the first objective was the most prominent, and the Society played a role in two major exploratory expeditions (the Elder and Calvert expeditions) at the close of the 19th. Century, with a continuing interest after 1900 in both Australian and Antarctic exploration. In 1905 the Society purchased the York Gate Library, a major private collection amassed by a London merchant relating to geography, exploration and colonisation (see Library). Through this purchase, the Society acquired the permanent home which it still enjoys through its affiliation with the Public Library, now the State Library of South Australia. The Society's present magnificent library was built around this core, and the books made available to the public for all time in return for the provision of accommodation. Initially housed in purpose-built premises in the Institute Building, the Society is currently located in the Mortlock wing of the main State Library Building on North Terrace.
Today, the RGSSA maintains an interest in the natural and cultural environment and promotes this interest through talks, excursions and interpretation of the natural and human-modified landscape, not only of South Australia but at the national, regional and global scales. A copy of the Annual Programme is available both on this web site, and by request to the Society's office can be supplied in hard copy form.
Annual activities today include
- Monthly lectures on geographical topics, ranging between historical, current and future-oriented subjects.
- Day excursions
- Field work including participation in the Man and Biosphere programme
- Publication of the South Australian Geographical Journal (annual), Geonews (Bi-monthly) and South Australian Geographical Papers (Occasional research monographs)
- Regional guide books and other occasional publications on geographical topics
- Library access for study, research, browsing and pleasure.
- Social activities and commemorations of major events of geographical significance.
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