Its main object was “The discussion of scientific subjects, with special reference to the natural history, soil, climate and agriculture of the colony of Queensland”.
Excursions in 1891 and 1894 to Yandina, Eudlo and Eumundi explored the big scrubs being felled as the new railway line advanced towards Gympie.
Meanwhile Tryon became first President of a new group, The Natural History Society of Queensland, which in January 1892 held its first fortnightly meeting in the library of the Museum (then in William St).
Its objects were to promote the study of natural history, the investigation of the geology, flora, fauna, etc., of the colony, and the dissemination of the knowledge acquired.
In 1906, the Royal Society, with the help of the Teachers’ Union, organised a Nature Study Exhibition at the Technical College on the nights of 9-12 January.
The interest generated among scientists and teachers led to the formation of a new group, and on 6 April 1906 the inaugural meeting of the Field Naturalists’ Club was held.
In his inaugural address, Skertchly stressed the point that this was a Club, not a Society, and he continually urged the cultivation of what he called “Clubability”.
In 1915 the biologist Freda Bage was made president of the Club, owing to her research and interest in local fauna and flora.
In a number of individual cases, professional qualifications and occupation in one field of science have meant skilled application as an “amateur” in another area; a professor of earth sciences and expert on volcanoes is, as a naturalist, an authority on Queensland cicadas; a lecturer in anatomy of large animals is an expert on the local birds and their behaviour.
Gradually camps and extended excursions were added, and members have visited sites throughout our own area of south-east Queensland and have recorded their observations, in some cases being able to note changes in the ecology of a place over a period; the Christmas Creek area, for example, was visited by the Club in 1941 and again in 1991, with interesting changes noted.
More recently, for several years the Club presented Junior Naturalist’s Awards to young members who satisfactorily completed natural history projects.
In recent years, with the profusion of alternative entertainment and the pressure of school and social programmes, participation by children in Club activities has become much less.
The Club’s emblem is a young Bunya Pine tree, which appeared on the cover of The Queensland Naturalist from 1921 to 1978, when it developed a second canopy.
They may be accessed via the Biodiversity Heritage Library The Club has published handbooks on Queensland natural history.
Its influence has been through a reasoned, unemotional and constructive approach to Ministers or other relevant authorities, although sometimes wide publicity, in combination with other groups, has been necessary.
The Lamington National Park was proclaimed in 1915, largely due to the efforts of Romeo Lahey, a Club member.
After the First World War, the Club played a considerable part in publicising the little-known area and assisting planning for its management, holding its first excursion to the new park .in 1918; a party of eleven camped two nights at Bithongabel, guided by Herbert O’Reilly, an experience which was commemorated in 1966 by the unveiling of a plaque by Alec Chisholm.
Other campaigns in which the Club has played an active role include the preservation of the Samford Bora Ground and the prevention of sand mining on Fraser Island.
Somewhat surprisingly, in 1929 “owing to representations from this Club, protection that had been given to the iguana was rescinded”; this needs to be seen against the contemporary background of deep-felt concern for the survival of native birds.