The Royal Society of Victoria in association with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the Australia Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS), and the German Meteorological Society (DMG), invites your participation in a scientific symposium to celebrate the achievements and legacies of an outstanding 19^th-century scientist.

Georg Balthasar von Neumayer (1826-1909)
Georg von Neumayer was one of the most respected figures of 19^th-century Australian and German science. Born Georg Balthasar Neumayer in the Palatinate in 1826, he first visited Australia from 1852 to 1854 as a seaman on the Reiherstieg and digger on the Victorian goldfields. After study back in Germany, he returned to Melbourne in January 1857 and established the Flagstaff Observatory of which he served as Director from 1858 to 1863.Returning again to Germany in 1864 he later became the foundation director of the German Hydrographic Service and was subsequently Chairman of the Commission which organised the First International Polar Year 1882-83. Ennobled as von Neumayer by the King of Bavaria and elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 1899. He left a remarkable legacy of achievement in Australian and German magnetism, meteorology, navigation, oceanography and polar science. On the centenary of his death in May 1909, the Royal Society of Victoria is pleased to honour its former Vice President and Honorary Life Member by providing the opportunity for the broader community to learn about von Neumayer's remarkable achievements during his years in Australia and to explore his legacy in each of his fields of achievement.

The papers for this Symposium will be published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria.