ISSN 1329-7759 RSWA Proceedings ATTENTION LIBRARIANS: This publication should be catalogued under "Proceedings of the Royal Society of Western Australia

December 2012

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MARITIME MUSEUM SHIPWRECK GALLERIES

This year we are excited to collaborate with the WA Museum Shipwreck Galleries at Cliff Street in Fremantle to celebrate the end of another successful year. We invite you, your family and guests, to join us in the courtyard of the Galleries at 4.45 pm on Monday 10th December. Please bring a plate to share. Drinks and BBQ will be provided. Please RSVP (see below) The Courtyard is to the right of the main entrance. The main tour of the Marine Archaeology section and Conservation Laboratory, conducted by Dr Ian MacLeod (Executive director of Fremantle Museums and Maritime Heritage, WA Maritime Museum), will start at 5.00 pm. These ‘wet areas’ are not open to the public so this is an exceptional opportunity to see them. The galleries will close at 5.00 pm. If you wish to arrive earlier and spend time in them, take your plate to the front desk in the main entrance and staff and councillors will take it to the function room and refrigerate it if necessary. Some councillors will be there from 3.00 pm onwards. If you have not been to the galleries before – allow at least 1.5 hours to go through them, and don’t miss the Batavia Gallery. A map of the galleries and brief explanation of what they contain can be found on the back page Please RSVP with name and numbers to Lynne Milne ([email protected] or 0414 400 2190) by Friday 7th December http://www.royalsocietyofwa.com This issue of the RSWA Proceedings was edited by Charlotte Mack and Lynne Milne

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Enquiries: [email protected] or Lynne Milne 0414 400 219 

MEMBERSHIP DUES

THINGS TO SEE IN THE SHIPWRECK GALLERIES

The 2012-2013 membership fees are now due. Members should have received an invoice several months ago, but if you have mislaid it please phone Lynne on 0414 400 219 or email [email protected] for a duplicate to be sent to you. Council has agreed to continue to send the Proceedings to members who are 12 months in arrears, but the Journal will not be sent to members after they are six months in arrears. For members who pay their dues after 6 months, the issue/s of the Journal they missed will be mailed out to them. With our Centenary year coming up in 2014, we encourage members past and present to maintain their relationship with the Society and be a part of the many exciting celebratory events we have planned. Some of the highlights of the programme will be published in the March Proceedings.

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia

Dutch Wrecks Gallery: A Beardman jug from the Vergulde Draek (Gilt Dragon)

EDITOR’S REPORT RSWA Journal Volume 95 parts 3,4 will be mailed out in the week beginning 3rd December. 'Season's Greetings to all authors, reviewers and Editorial Board members from the Editor-in-Chief, who looks forward to receiving lots of manuscripts in the New Year'

Please keep manuscripts coming in and send (preferably by email) to: Tony Cockbain Editor-in-Chief Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 104 Hensman Street South Perth WA 6151 08 9367 7037 0439 690 947 OR email to [email protected] They will be reviewed and processed quickly and should be published within 6 to 12 months. Batavia Gallery: A replica of the stone portico intended for the Batavia Castle. The original portico is in the Geraldton Museum.

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his supervisors astounded by his productivity and the quality of his scientific research skills. As a result of his achievements Wil was employed as a Research Assistant in the School of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences on a casual basis to continue the research project in parallel with his undergraduate studies. Through his research work Wil has advanced our understanding of what is arguably the most unusual mammalian social organisation.

WILFORD GOH – MURDOCH UNIVERSITY’S RSWA MEDALLIST 2011 Wilford Goh, Murdoch University’s RSWA medallist for 2011, was presented with his medal by the President, Dr Phil O’Brien, at the RSWA November General meeting as he was unable to attend the 2012 Annual General Meeting. Wilford is a remarkable young man who has just completed his Honours degree with First Class Honours and hopes to go on to a PhD in the near future. Murdoch nominated Wil because of his outstanding undergraduate academic record and his dedication and contribution to research, which as an undergraduate the latter is an exceptional achievement. The following is a summary of, and abstracts from, Murdoch University’s recommendation letter sent to RSWA by Professor Bev Thiele, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic.

Wil’s aptitude for scientific research was recognised in August 2010 when he presented the findings of his research at the Endocrine and Reproductive Sciences Symposium, and was awarded second prize in the Student Oral Presentation Category (in competition with students undertaking higher degrees). In summer 20102011 Wil was awarded and successfully completed a Summer Scholarship from the Australian National University, recognition that his scientific achievements are competitive at a National level. Through his achievements Wil has made a significant contribution to biological research in Australia across a range of fields, which is quite remarkable for an undergraduate student.

Wil obtained High Distinction grades in all of his undergraduate units in his Forensic Biology/Biomedical Science Degree. Prizes he received include: The ViceChancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence for each year he completed; the 2010 Murdoch University Medal for academic excellence; School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Student research Scholarship Summer 2009-2010.

Wil’s Biomedical Science Honours Project which he has recently completed is titled: Conditioning B cells for antibody production at mucosal surfaces – in vitro generation of antibody-screening B cells. Wil hoped that the preliminary findings from his project would reveal insights into the generation of antigen specific IgA plasma cells that would migrate specifically to the lungs and provide immune protection against respiratory viruses such as influenza virus and aeroallergens that induce asthma in vivo. RSWA commends Wil on his achievements and we hope to see much more of his research in future.

ESPERANCE AND RECHERCHE PARKS AND RESERVES MANAGEMENT PLAN. RSWA has received notice from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) that the draft of the Esperance and Recherché Parks and Reserves Management Plan has been released and is available for comment. The Draft management plan makes recommendations about the management of these reserves and proposed conservation reserves. If you would like to have a say on how the values of the Esperance and Recherché parks and reserves will be protected and conserved, the draft management plan and a submission form can be downloaded from the DEC’s website at www.dec.wa.gov.au/haveyoursay Copies can also be viewed at local libraries in Esperance, Hopetoun, Ravensthorpe and Munglinup as well as at DEC’s Information Centre at The Atrium, Perth. For a copy to

Wilford Goh and Dr Philip O’Brien at Murdoch University

For the Summer Research Scholarship 2009-2010 Wil spent six weeks conducting a research project on the Damaraland mole rat vomeronasal organ. Damaraland mole rats, endemic to South Africa, are remarkable because they are eusocial, with only 1 female and 1-3 males in a colony reproductively active. The vomeronasal organ is postulated to be involved in pheromonal signalling that helps to maintain this uncommon social organisation. At every stage of the research project, from his excellent laboratory work through to the professionalism of his final report, Wil left

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be sent to you please email [email protected] and ask for a CD or hard copy.

age, how long it has been exposed to space and the composition of solar wind exposure.

The closing date for submissions is Thursday 31st January, 2013. Refer to the Invitation to Comment section of the draft plan on how to prepare the submission. Submissions can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to:

Dr Fred Jourdan at Curtin University Department of Applied Geology and John de Laeter Centre for Isotope Research says their research will help to map out the impact history of the solar system and the formation of the asteroid belt.

Planning Officer - Esperance and Recherché Parks and Reserves Draft Management Plan Dept of Environment and Conservation Locked Bag 104 BENTLEY DELIVERY CENTRE, WA 6983

Scientists would usually have to rely on meteorites of unknown origins found on Earth, but for the first time they can look at the impact history of an asteroid in a stable position, once they have determined its age. The scientists also want to find out Itokawa’s parentage as it is believed to be debris from a much larger asteroid that broke off relatively recently. They have also matched its composition to a meteorite found on Earth.

ORD RIVER AND PARRY NATURE RESERVES MANAGEMENT PLAN No. 77 2012

Dr Jourdan says knowing Itokawa’s age and how long it has been exposed to space can tell them how fast it has been eroded by solar winds and micro bombardment. “This can tell us the micro bombardment rate in a space mission,” he says.

RSWA has received notice from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) that the Ord River and Parry Nature Reserves Management Plan No. 77 2012 is now available. Copies of the plan and the analysis of public submissions document can be found at: www.dec.wa.gov.au/landmanagementplanning. Copies are available at the DEC offices in Perth, Kensington and Kununurra and printed copies are available for viewing at the DEC Conservation Science Library in Kensington and the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley library.

DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY SECRETS TO BE REVEALED THROUGH ZUYTDORP WRECK* The wreck of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) sailing ship ‘Zuytdorp’ is the subject of a study by the WA Museum in Geraldton. Researchers are studying the wreck to look at the conserved remains in the hope of gaining further insights into the shipbuilding methods, and dendrochronological evidence to conclusively date pieces currently held by the museum.

JAPANESE ASTEROID AGE AND STATUS TO BE EXAMINED BY CURTIN*

Flinders University lecturer Dr Wendy Van Duivenvoorde, Netherlands Centre for Dendrochronolgy dendrochronologist Dr Marta Dominguez Delmas and John Carpenter from the West Australian Museum will be conducting the research. They hope to compare the wreck fragments held by the WA museum to an existing database of trees and their rings from Europe. They hope to come up with a more complete picture of the history of VOC ships and their relationship with Western Australia. Zuytdorp was built in the VOC Zeeland shipyard and launched in 1701. The ship was wrecked on the third voyage to the East Indies (Indonesia) in 1712 at the base of the cliffs between Kalbarri and Shark bay. Pieces of the ship have washed ashore and been reported since 1927 but the wreck location was only sighted by an official expedition in 1954.

Curtin University planetary scientists will analyse grains of rock from the first asteroid ever to be sampled in the hope of uncovering new knowledge about the history of the solar system. The scientists will analyse the largest and most precious grains from the Itokawa asteroid retrieved in the Japanese Space Agency’s 2005 mission to determine the asteroid’s

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The VOC was one of the first multi-national companies and as such they kept shipbuilding techniques as commercial secrets. This has meant there are few records of exactly how their ships were constructed and it is only by the study of wrecks that this information can be gleaned.

Our new postal address is PO Box 7026 Karawara, WA 6152

WA CHEMISTRY PROF WINS AMINOFF PRIZE FOR MOLECULE RESEARCH* Mark Spackman, head of UWA's School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been awarded the Aminoff Prize in Crystallography for designing a new way to visualise how molecules fit together to form crystals.

The Royal Society of WA Library is held at Kew St, Welshpool

He developed his theory into a software program that allows other researchers to more easily study crystalline molecules.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 9212 3771 Facsimile: 9212 3882

The award will be presented by Sweden's King Carl Gustav at a ceremony at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 5 April 2013. *Sourced from ScienceNetwork WA

A new front page for the combined WA Museum and Royal Society library catalogue: http://library-srv.museum.wa.gov.au/menu.html

RSWA Events Calendar 2013 (so far)

Date 18th March

Time 7.00

Venue Curtin University

15th April

7.00

TBA

Event 3rd John de Laeter Memorial Lecture (Speaker TBA) Prof. David Haig ‐ Stratigraphic reconstruction of Timor Leste: implications for the uplift of a chaotic island.

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Map of Shipwreck Galleries – (not available at galleries so print off and bring with you)

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