Item 5 - Collectors of specimens

In the 1920's and 1930's scientists studying animals began to realise that little attention was being paid to how animals lived and how they reacted to their environment and each other. Thus a worldwide interest in their general ecology began. The first general meeting of the Club (as distinct from the inaugural meeting held on 6 June 1935 to discuss the formation of the Club) took place on Monday, 15 July 1935.
The Biological Club celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary with a dinner on 13 July 2010 attended by many past and present members and their partners. Membership in the Club
is by invitation, with the maximum number of members at any time fixed at 20. This limit is largely dictated by the fact that most meetings, as originally intended, are still held in
the homes of members, thereby placing a practical constraint on numbers. One is entitled to ask the purpose of this litdeknown Club. In the days of its founding, the 1930s, it was an avenue by which active scientists in the Hobart area could exchange information and discuss topics of mutual interest, as there were fewer alternative options for communication than today. The age structure of the members has changed considerably in the 75 years of the Club's history. Previously the entire membership was made up of active workers in the prime of their productive lives. It is now dominated by retirees. Nevertheless, with increasing calls by governments for physically able pensioners to remain productive and contribute to society and to the economy, the Biological Club provides an avenue by which retirees can learn about new developments from younger colleagues. It turn, it gives the younger members the opportunity to benefit from the experience and accumulated wisdom of their senior colleagues.
For more information see : https://eprints.utas.edu.au/15993/4/ratkowsky-little-known-scientific-club-2010.pdf