Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch's 175th anniversary in 2026
The Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch was founded in Wellington in July 1851 as the New Zealand Society with Sir George Grey as its first President. It was renamed the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1867.
The name seems a bit strange today and indeed has gone through several name changes since, but it was a period of scientific discovery and many philosophical societies were founded about the same time in regional UK, Ireland and Australasia. Historically, the societies were crucial in disseminating new knowledge, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, and supporting scholarly research through meetings, publications, and libraries.
The Wellington Branch's great claim to fame is that it was at one of their meetings that a member, a Post Office Clerk named George Hudson, first proposed the idea of daylight saving. The Wellington Branch have an annual lecture named in remembrance of George Hudson.
George Veron Hudson was also one of the Society’s original Fellows (elected in 1919) and was awarded the Society’s Hector Medal and the Hutton Medal in 1923 and 1929 respectively.
Information on the Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch anniversary celebrations will be advised later this year or early next year.