- AGM - General Information
- AGM - Nominating for Council
- Message from the Club President
- About Our Club
- Club Management
- Our Branches
- Family & Friends Association
- Introduction to the Site
- News and Upcoming Events
- Melbourne MWD 2012 Images
- UK/Europe MWL 2012
- Photos from some Recent pre-2012 Dinners
- Nomination Form
- 2011 Medal Recipient
- Introduction
- Melbourne
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Links to Official Sites
- Links to Personal Pages
-
Gallery and Sound Bites
- Obituaries and Member Tributes
- Shelagh Robinson
- Alf Howard
- Dr Phil Law
- Classified Ads and Similar
- Gallery and Sound Bites
- Macquarie Island Field huts
- Brewing beer on station
- Masons Hut in miniature
Welcome Address by Peter Laver, Vice president of Australian Academy of Science.
Could I, on behalf of the Academy welcome you all here today. It is terrific to see this roll-up for this very important meeting in honour of a very distinguished Australian. The Academy is very pleased to have been sponsoring this meeting through its Victorian and Tasmanian divisions and in association with the Royal Society of Victoria and the Australian Academy of Science.
Phillip Law was a distinguished member of each of those bodies, both the two Academies and the Royal Society and that puts him in a pretty rare group. The Chairman this morning is one of them, who is a member of both Academies and I think our last speaker this afternoon is not only a member of those two, but of the other two Academies too. I think – the only living human being who has been a member of all four Australian learned academies. So we are very privileged to be able to celebrate the life and work of Phillip Law, because of his association with our organisation.
In some ways, the work he did personified the sorts of things that this Academy holds dear. He was a upholder of excellence, he was tenacious, he had a passion for good science, he had a passion for education, and he had a passion for fighting the bureaucracy, and I would have to say, as far as the Academy was concerned that was something that we have learnt a little bit from him, because in many respects unless you get up there and stand up for yourself, you are not going to be heard in Canberra. So, in many respects, Phillip Law was very much aligned to the sorts of things that this Academy holds dear.
I am young enough not to have worked with him, or in fact, met him only on a few occasions. I do hear that he was a regular attendee of Academy functions, and I can remember sitting next to him at lunch, some time ago, and he found out that I was a little bit involved in Academy activities and projects and submissions and so on and gave me some gratuitous advice as to what the Academy should be doing and how we should fight the bureaucrats. I remember it well, I remember also that the sorts of things that he thought we should be doing are exactly the sorts of things that we do right today. He would be very proud to know that we were holding a meeting here on this subject and he would be even more proud that it was held in his memory. I think it is going to be a terrific day as we have got some excellent speakers and on behalf of the Academy again, I welcome you and again, I wish you a very interesting and edifying day. Thank you
Phillip Law was a distinguished member of each of those bodies, both the two Academies and the Royal Society and that puts him in a pretty rare group. The Chairman this morning is one of them, who is a member of both Academies and I think our last speaker this afternoon is not only a member of those two, but of the other two Academies too. I think – the only living human being who has been a member of all four Australian learned academies. So we are very privileged to be able to celebrate the life and work of Phillip Law, because of his association with our organisation.
In some ways, the work he did personified the sorts of things that this Academy holds dear. He was a upholder of excellence, he was tenacious, he had a passion for good science, he had a passion for education, and he had a passion for fighting the bureaucracy, and I would have to say, as far as the Academy was concerned that was something that we have learnt a little bit from him, because in many respects unless you get up there and stand up for yourself, you are not going to be heard in Canberra. So, in many respects, Phillip Law was very much aligned to the sorts of things that this Academy holds dear.
I am young enough not to have worked with him, or in fact, met him only on a few occasions. I do hear that he was a regular attendee of Academy functions, and I can remember sitting next to him at lunch, some time ago, and he found out that I was a little bit involved in Academy activities and projects and submissions and so on and gave me some gratuitous advice as to what the Academy should be doing and how we should fight the bureaucrats. I remember it well, I remember also that the sorts of things that he thought we should be doing are exactly the sorts of things that we do right today. He would be very proud to know that we were holding a meeting here on this subject and he would be even more proud that it was held in his memory. I think it is going to be a terrific day as we have got some excellent speakers and on behalf of the Academy again, I welcome you and again, I wish you a very interesting and edifying day. Thank you
