Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (North Quay)

Name: Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (North Quay)

Group: Institutional Location

Type: Scholarly Society

Years at Location: 1885-Current

The state Society was fairly small at about 200 members at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Society was influential in the affairs of state, such as the Queensland Place Names Committee, but how well it promoted the study of geography among the general population is a question for further historical investigation. Further research is underway

Impact on Brisbane Society

The Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland Branch) was established in July 1885. The foundation President was Augustus Charles Gregory (later Sir Augustus). The journals were, Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland) published until 1899, and the Queensland Geographical Journal (1900 to 1993).

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Society had fifteen provincial branches, although some were more active than others (e.g. Roma; Thursday Island). All of these earliest provincial branches had folded by 1940. The Society pioneered the exploration of the Carnarvon Ranges in Central Queensland during the 1940s and 1950s. The Society was involved in the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Committee (1922 to 1927), has lobbied for the establishment of various national parks in Queensland (e.g. Lamington) and its representatives were members of the Queensland Place Names Committee until 1981. A Western Branch of the Society operated at Dalby from 1955 to 1963.