Clarke Medal

item details

NameClarke Medal

ProductionAlfred Wyon; engraver; 1878; London
J.S.& A.B. Wyon; engraver

Classificationmedals

Materialsbronze

DimensionsOverall: 5mm (width), 56mm (height), 56mm (diameter)

Registration NumberNU006502

Credit lineGift of the family of Sir James Hector, 1937

Overview

This Clarke Medal is struck in bronze. The obverse side shows a portrait if the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, M.A., F.R.S., with the date 1878. The reverse side shows a wreath of Australian flora, with the text 'THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY FOR RESEARCHES IN NATURAL SCIENCE'.

The Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal was instituted by the Royal Society of New South Wales in Australia to honour 'meritorious contributions to Geology, Mineralogy and Natural History of Australasia [by] men of science, whether resident in Australasia or elsewhere'. The medal was named in memory of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke (1798-1878], a geologist and one of the 'founding fathers' of the Royal Society of New South Wales. It was first awarded in 1879, and it has always been a highly prized mark of scientific distinction.

Prestigious honour
James Hector was the tenth man to be awarded the Clarke Medal. It is a measure of his standing as a scientist that his predecessors included such world-famous names as Sir Richard Owen, Thomas Huxley, and Sir Joseph Hooker.