150 Years of Queensland Science

Presented by Professor John Mainstone

June 2, 2009

Lieutenant James Cook RN first set foot on 'Queensland' soil in May 1770, accompanied by a small group of 'gentlemen' - scientists with keen intellects, but possessing minimal technology. Along with the birth of the Colony of Queensland in 1859 came a blueprint for encouraging parallel development of both science and technology in the new colony. The subsequent record of Queensland in these areas is demonstrably impressive, with names such as Charles Coxen, James Cockle, and Joseph Bancroft featuring prominently at first. Then the torch was passed to Thomas Bancroft, Edward Barton, J W Sutton, Elizabeth Kenny, Bertram Steele, Valentine Mc Dowall, Josephine Bancroft (Mackerras), A G Jackson, James Trackson, Dorothy Hill, Thomas Parnell and others, each a pioneer in an ever-broadening scientific and technological endeavour. The most recent historical phase is marked at first by an expansion of activity, in the not-too-distant past, and then by an explosion which finally brings us to 2009 - and Q150. Amazing technology pervades every aspect of our lives now, yet we are told that most senior-school students in Queensland are deliberately opting to regard the fundamental rigorous ('enabling') sciences of physics, mathematics and chemistry as a no-go area. Is that revelation really compatible with our Smart State tag?

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