Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 81:13, March 1998 The Medal of The Royal Society of Western Australia was instituted in 1924 to mark the centenary of the birth of Lord Kelvin (26 June, 1825). The Royal Society Medal (originally referred to as the "Gold Medal" and then subsequently sometimes as the "Kelvin Medal' due to the association of the inaugural award with the centennial Kelvin celebration and because the medal bears in relief on its obverse side the head of Kelvin) is awarded approximately every four years for distinguished work in science connected with Western Australia. The original dye for the medal, first struck in 1924, remains in the safe-keeping of The Society. The first three medals were struck in gold, and all subsequent medals in silver. The first medallist of The Royal Society was Dr William J. Hancock, Government Electrical Engineer and Honorary Medical Radiographer at Perth Hospital, who in 1924 was the recipient of the Medal of The Royal Society of Western Australia, in recognition of his pioneering work in the medical application of X-rays The most recent medallists Dr Ernest Hodgkin and Dr Arthur McComb were presented with the Medal of The Royal Society of Western Australia, in recognition of their contributions to estuarine and botanical science in Western Australia. Recipients of the Medal of The Royal Society of Western Australia: (reference to Journal of the Royal Society notice of medal award in parentheses) 1924 Dr W J Hancock: radiography; medical application of x-rays (10:xvii) 1929 Dr E S Simpson: mineralogy and geology of Western Australia (15:iv) 1933 Mr W M Came: plant pathology; the bitter pit of apples (19:xi) 1937 Mr A Gibb Maitland: Pilbara survey and artesian water supplies (23:xi) 1941 Prof E de C Clarke: geology of Western Australia (27:v) 1945 Mr L Glauert: natural sciences (31:vi) 1949 Mr C A Gardner: botany, the flora of Western Australia (35:v) 1955 Dr H W Bennetts: veterinary science; live stock diseases (40:1) 1959 Prof E J Underwood: animal nutrition and husbandry (43:67) 1966 Mr C F H Jenkins: agricultural entomology and natural history (49:91) 1970 Prof R T Prider: geology; petrology and mineralogy (53:95) 1979 Prof R M Berndt: anthropology; aboriginal studies (63:29) 1979 Emer Prof B J Grieve: botany; ecophysiology and the flora of WA (63:29) 1979 Dr D L Serventy: zoology; ornithology and nature conservation 1983 Dr J S Beard: botany; vegetation classification and mapping (65:93) 1986 Prof C A Parker: soil biology 1993 Prof J R de Laeter: geophysics and geochronology (77:4) 1995 Emer Prof A R Main: zoology; ecology and nature conservation (78:89) 1997 Prof Ernest Hodgkin: estuarine studies (80:287) 1997 Prof Arthur McComb: plant growth and ecology (80:287) © Royal Society of Western Australia 1998 P C Withers Centennial Issue, Volume 81 Honorary Editor, RSWA 13