About us

About us

The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) was established on 10 March 1914 under Royal assent granted by King George V, and remains today the only multi-disciplinary scientific society in the State.

Royal Societies in Australia

In Australia, Royal Societies based in Science have been established in six states: Tasmania (founded 1843); New South Wales (origins from 1821, renamed with Royal Patronage 1866); Victoria (origins from 1854, renamed with Royal Patronage 1859); South Australia (origins from 1834 and 1853, renamed with Royal Patronage 1880); Queensland (origins from 1859, renamed with Royal Patronage 1885); and the youngest in Western Australia. The use of “Royal” without further qualification is confined to multi-disciplinary scientific bodies sharing the same purview as the Royal Society of London for “improving natural knowledge”. In 2007 The Royal Societies of Australia was founded as a national organisation to assist and represent the hundreds of members of Australia’s Royal Societies with one voice in the interests of science, not only in Australia, but throughout the world.