Making Victoria's Scientific Heritage Available For All [29.06.2009]

The Royal Society of Victoria has been awarded a grant of $35,000 towards the digitization of the Royal Society Heritage Scientific Collection.

The Royal Society has been involved in some of the most significant scientific events in Victoria's history: the Burke & Wills expedition; the establishment of the Museum, the State Library and the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather station (still on-site); Australia's first Antarctic exploration; the setting-aside of Wilson's Promontory as a national park; and the formation of The Marine Sciences Institute of Victoria.

The Society has been publishing its scientific Proceedings since 1854, making it one of the longest running scientific journals in Australia. The papers of this valuable scientific heritage collection are not generally available to the public, except in printed form though major libraries. However, after completion of this project, 150 years of Proceedings and Transactions (over 80,000 pages) will be available to anyone via the Web as a searchable digital form. This will be a highly valuable historical & scientific resource for future generations. The proceedings date back to some of the earliest days of European settlement of Victoria.

The total project cost is approximately $175,000 and the Royal Society of Victoria is seeking further funding and donations to enable it to come to fruition.