Minutes of Annual Meeting of The Board of Governors,
24th January, 1929.

The Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the New Zealand Institute was held in the Council Room, University College, Auckland, on Tuesday, 24th January, 1929, at 10 a.m.

Present.—Mr. B. C. Aston, President, in the chair, Dr. L. Cockayne and Mr. W. R. B. Oliver, representing the Government; Professor Kirk, representing Wellington Philosophical Society; Professor F. P. Worley, representing Auckland Institute; Dr. C. C. Farr and Mr. A. M. Wright, representing Philosophical Institute of Canterbury; Hon. G. M. Thomson, M.L.C., representing Otago Institute; Professor Easterfield, representing Nelson Institute; Mr. M. A. Eliott, representing Manawatu Philosophical Society.

Apologies.—Apologies for absence were received from His Excellency the Governor-General, from the Hon. Minister of Internal Affairs, from Dr. C. Chilton, from Professor H. W. Segar, from Professor James Park, from Mr. G. V. Hudson, and from Mr. W. H. Guthrie Smith.

Deceased Members.—In his opening remarks the President asked the members to stand while he read the names of members of the Institute who had died during the year. The President spoke as follows:—

My sad duty now is to refer to those who have died during the past year. We mourn the loss of:—

Governor and Fellow, Dr. James Allan Thomson for fourteen years Director of the Dominion Museum, an ardent worker in Geology, and especially in Palaeontology. He was a man of very wide interests, and was unsparing of himself when work of any kind was to be done. He was prominent in all good works and served the Institute faithfully and well in many capacities, being President when the end came. His great work on Brachiopod Morphology was published in 1927, and drew forth most favourable notice from workers

in other lands. That in twenty years he had published some 70 papers, memoirs and books is evidence of his talent and industry. For years he struggled against ill-health, and his courage under adversity was one of his most admired qualities, for bravery never goes out of fashion.

Honorary Member, Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., mathematician and authority on terrestrial magnetism, under whose direction Kew Observatory, of which he was Superintendent for 27 years, attained the leading position amongst the magnetic observatories of the world, was one of our honorary members who identified himself closely with New Zealand. For the past thirty years his advice has been freely sought by those interested in geophysical work, and most cheerfully and fully given. He worked up the magnetic results of the Scott Antarctic Expedition, the Shackleton Expedition, and the Mawson Expedition, and was still at work at the last mentioned when he died.

Members.—F. Shaw was a member of the Auckland Institute who took a keen interest in the library. In 1913 he presented over 100 valuable books to the Auckland Institute, and his generous bequest of £1,000 will materially improve the library resources of that Society.

C. C. McMillan was one of the oldest members of the Auckland Institute.

Chas. Dash was a very old member, and a most regular attendant at the meetings of the Canterbury Philosophical Institute.

J. B. Mayne, who was President of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury in 1902, was a member of the Expedition, organised by the Canterbury Society, to the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand in 1907.

Dr. W. H. Symes, a very old member of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, who was President in 1885. He took a keen interest in all scientific work and contributed several papers to the Transactions.

Notices of Motion.—Notices of motion were called for.

Hector Award.—The report of the Hector Award Committee received in a sealed envelope was as follows:—

“The Committee has had some difficulty in distinguishing between those who are eligible for the award, but after careful consideration recommends that the medal be awarded to the Hon. G. M. Thomson, F.L.S., F.N.Z. Inst., for his long continued researches on the animals of New Zealand, particularly his most valuable work on the Naturalization of Animals and Plants in New Zealand, and the results of his experiments and researches on the introduction of food fishes, and on the life history of New Zealand fishes carried out at the Portobello Fish Hatchery, the establishment and maintenance of which have been almost entirely due to his initiative and perseverance.

G. V. Hudson

,

Chas. Chilton

,
Committee for the Award of the Hector Medal in Zoology in 1929.”