Level 3 Mortlock Wing State Library of South Australia North Terrace Adelaide SA 5000
admin@rgssa.org.au
MEMBERSHIP
DONATE

News & Acknowledgements

Experience. Geography. Together.TM

Latest News & Acknowledgements

Housing Forum

17 September 2025 | 6:16 am

Higher Density Housing Forum

To help inform the public debate on housing, the RGSSA hosted a public symposium seeking to answer the question "Can higher density housing reduce Adelaide's housing costs?” The symposium brought together an impressive group of professionals representing government, the private sector and academia.  The presentations from the day, together with a summary, are now available online.

Exhibition image

11 April 2025 | 6:16 am

History Month - Decisions

The Society will be celebrating History Month during May with an exhibition titled: Triumph and Tragedy: Early Decisions that Shaped South Australia https://festival.history.sa.gov.au/events/triumph-and-tragedy-early-decisions-that-shaped-south-australia/ 

In addition to normal library opening hours, the library will be open from 1-4 pm on Sundays during May.

For full details of everything that is happening see https://festival.history.sa.gov.au/

Other News & Acknowledgements

20 March 2025 | 6:16 am

GeoNight 2025

GeoNight is an initiative proposed for the first time by the CNFG (French National Geographical Committee) at a National scale in 2017. From 2018 onwards, the initiative has expanded internationally, first in Europe, thanks to EUGEO, and then even beyond, thanks to the IGU.  The RGSSA's entry is an introduction to some of the many geographical treasures in our collection.  Our entry is available for viewing until GeoNight on 4 April 2025.

Explore the very many other contributions to GeoNight from around the world!.

14 November 2024 | 6:16 am

Launch of Geography Victoria

Geography Victoria (GV) is Australia’s newest voluntary, community-based geographical society. Victoria has not had a Geographical Society since 1920. And Australia has not had a new state-based geographical society since the Geographical Society of NSW was established in 1927. So the launch of Geography Victoria was genuinely a once in a century event!

READ MORE

22 July 2024 | 6:16 am

National Committee for Geographical Sciences meets in Adelaide

The Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Geographical Sciences (NCGS - pictured above) held a very productive face-to-face meeting in Adelaide, its first since before COVID. 

NCGS fosters geography in Australia, links the Academy of Science to Australian geographers and relevant scientific societies, and links Australian geographers to their overseas counterparts, primarily through the International Geographical Union. 

READ MORE

19 July 2024 | 6:16 am

RGSSA farewells inaugural Library Research Fellow

In July we bid farewell to the RGSSA’s inaugural Library Research Fellow, Professor Don Albert (Sam Houston State University) and his wife Julie Albert. Don presented a talk on the project he has been working on while in Adelaide over the past month at our monthly lecture series. He examined the two major and quite different accounts of the movements of HMS Bounty after the mutiny prepared by Henry E. Maude and Brian N. Hooker. It was remarkable that Henry Maude’s son and distinguished RGSSA member Dr Alaric Maude was in the audience. We wish Don and Julie safe travels as they return to Texas on Saturday!

16 July 2024 | 6:16 am

First RGSSA Library Research Fellow

The RGSSA is delighted to welcome its inaugural Library Research Fellow, Dr Donald Albert - Professor of Geography at the Department of Environmental and Geosciences at Sam Houston State University, Texas. Dr Albert and his wife Julie arrived in Adelaide on 24 June and will be working in the RGSSA until the end of July. Don spoke at the IAG conference and on 18 July will deliver an RGSSA evening lecture on work he is doing in Adelaide on HMS Bounty. Don and Julie depart Adelaide to return to Texas soon after his lecture.

29 April 2024 | 6:16 am

Another prestigious award for Iain Hay - 2024 Laureat d’honneur

This international recognition from the International Geographical Union (IGU) for “service to the discipline at the international, national and local scales” is a tremendous honour and arguably one of the most esteemed in international Geography. The award will be presented to Iain in Dublin, Ireland on Friday 30th August.

Iain served on the Executive of the IGU from 2014 to 2024, and was First Vice President from 2020 to 2022. Iain is particularly thrilled to be described by IGU as “an accomplished influencer and knowledge provocateur whose impacts on Geography over more than three decades have been innovative, cumulative and far-reaching internationally.”

26 March 2024 | 6:16 am

Unveiling the Antipodes: New RGSSA International Book Series

Shining a Light on Australasian Geography

The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia (RGSSA) and leading international publisher Anthem Press are excited to announce a ground breaking new partnership that will rewrite the map (figuratively speaking) of geographical scholarship. This collaboration yields the "Antipodean Perspectives on Geography" book series, a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices and insights of geographers from Australia and New Zealand.

17 March 2024 | 6:16 am

Transforming Rural China by Prof Guy Robinson

The RGSSA's Vice President, Guy M. Robinson, is publishing a book which adeptly navigates the principal elements, key events and significant changes of the transformation of China’s countryside.  Over the last four decades, China has witnessed dramatic economic growth, transforming into an economic powerhouse with considerable consequences for its rural regions. More information and an ability to order a copy at a discounted price is available here.

13 March 2024 | 6:16 am

GeoNight 2024

GeoNight is an initiative proposed for the first time by the CNFG (French National Geographical Committee) at a National scale in 2017. From 2018 onwards, the initiative has expanded internationally, first in Europe, thanks to EUGEO, and then even beyond, thanks to the IGU.  The RGSSA'a entry is an introduction to some of the many geographical treasures in our collection. Available for viewing now until GeoNight on 12 April 2024.

7 August 2023 | 6:16 am

RGSQ honours Professor Iain Hay

The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland has awarded their J.P. Thomson Medal for 2024 to Professor Iain Hay for "outstanding geographical scholarship and long-standing leadership of the geography profession." It is another wonderful honour bestowed on Iain in recognition of 35+ years of work. There’s more details of the Medal itself at https://rgsq.org.au/prizes

19 May 2023 | 6:16 am

Exhibition - Wonder how SA came into being?

Wonder how South Australia came into being and how Colonel Light’s survey shaped the new colony?
What happened?

Visit the Royal Geographical Society any Tuesday to Friday 10am to 1pm from May 2023 to explore this exhibition.

27 April 2023 | 6:16 am

Society launches Treasures project

The Treasures project is an online display of some of the Society’s most wonderful books, maps, and artefacts. The first nine entries for the collection have been placed online and can be seen at https://rgssa.org.au/heritage/treasures. We have many more Treasures to add with the help of our very knowledgeable members!

26 February 2023 | 6:16 am

GeoNight - 14 April 2023

At the invitation of the French National Geographical Committee, the RGSSA submitted a presentation for GeoNight 2023 which highlights geography and geographers, giving the greater public a chance to familiarise themselves with geographical concepts and studies, and to make geographical research more accessible. 

The RGSSA has provided presentations in 2021 and 2022. For 2023 a presentation prepared by Andrew Lothian on the subject, The Paradox of Beautiful Landscapes, was prepared and submitted. This may be viewed at: https://rgssa.org.au/documents/RGSSA-Beautiful-Landscapes.pdf

26 February 2023 | 6:16 am

PS 'Marion' Cruise new date - 24 September 2023

The Captains have decided that, because of the floods, it will be too risky to take the boat up to Berri for the proposed 3 May trip. It is now booked to go up in September when there will again be the opportunity for us to do the cruise.  Bookings will open in August.  Members who expressed interest for the May date will be given first preference.

19 January 2023 | 6:16 am

Map Digitisation project acquires a new scanner

Thanks to a generous grant from the History Fund and the efforts of one of our new Councillors, Roger Irvine, the Society has recently acquired a wide bodied printer and scanner which will allow the map digitisation project to proceed smoothly.

3 August 2022 | 6:16 am

RGSSA in the Channel 7 weekend news

If priceless antiquities are your passion, there could be a job waiting for you at the Mortlock Wing of the Adelaide Library. The Royal Geographical Society is looking for volunteers as it conserves a staggering collection that is uniquely South Australian.

3 August 2022 | 6:16 am

Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Hilary Winchester AM

It is pleasing to note that former RGSSA Councillor (2009-2012) Emeritus Professor Hilary Patience Winchester (now at Fannie Bay NT 0820) received an AM on the Queen's Birthday 2022 Honours List: " For significant service to tertiary education, and to governance, committee and advisory roles.

3 August 2022 | 6:16 am

John Lewis Awards Ceremony

The Society’s annual John Lewis Awards ceremony, recognising scholarly achievement in Geography in 2021, was held on the evening of 26 May 2022 at the Mortlock Library.

3 August 2022 | 6:16 am

Bequest to RGGSA Library from the Estate of Gratton & Junelee Wheaton

Recently the Society has been pleased to receive a bequest from the estate of Gratton and Junelee Wheaton. It’s a tied bequest and is to put towards our project to install bespoke bookcases in the RGSSA library. Gratton and Junelee had significant involvement with the Society and this will be recognised with an appropriate plaque on one of the bookcases.

3 August 2022 | 6:16 am

Dennis Shearing Bequest

The estate of the late Dennis David Shearing, member from 1995, has left the Society $18,000. The money will be applied to Society activities identified through the Society’s Strategic Implementation Committee for Council endorsement.

© The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia

Privacy