| HISTORY
The Australian Herpetological Society (AHS) was founded, as the
Australian Reptile Club, in 1949 and was the first natural history
society in Australia devoted specifically to herpetology. In its
early days the Society drew together such names as Roy Mackay,
Bill Hosmer, John and Ken Dwyer, Henry Hirschorn, Rusty Holmes,
Wal Lorking and Kevin Budden (the latter was soon to die from a
taipan bite when collecting specimens for an attempt to develop
an antivenene). A very young Harold Cogger was a junior member
and Eric Worrell was closely associated with many of the early
activities. David McPhee also became a member in the early decades.
At the time of the AHS’s formation, the only identification guide
for any Australian reptiles was the 1929 "Snakes of Australia" by
Kinghorn, long out of print and published knowledge of the ecology
and husbandry of Australian reptiles and amphibians was almost
non-existent. Within a few years of its formation, with members
involved in fieldwork in what were then (and in some cases still are)
extremely remote parts of Australia the Society began its first
newsletter, The Australian Reptile Club Journal. This was soon
followed by a more formal publication, Reptilia, to report members’
observations. Both of these were short lived. However, in 1963 a new
publication, Herpetofauna was initiated, the title reflecting the
broader range of interests and change in name of the Society. The
first issue of the new publication carried a warning from the then
Secretary, David Millar, that all members of the Society were expected
to contribute one article per year for the fledgling magazine. It took
seven years for another issue to come out! However, once Herpetofauna
reappeared it has never looked back and is now the major amateur
herpetological journal in Australia with a readership of both
professionals and amateurs.
With the broadening of the membership base to other Australian states,
a Victorian branch of the AHS was established in 1972, becoming
independent in 1976 as the Victorian Herpetological Society.
In 1975 the Herpetological Section of the Royal Zoological Society
of New South Wales was amalgamated with the AHS and in 1976, the
future of Herpetofauna was more firmly established with the formation
of the Australasian Affiliation of Herpetological Societies, of which
the AHS was founding member. More recently the
Frog and Tadpole Study Group of NSW
was initiated as a special interest group of the AHS, becoming independent
in 1994.
The AHS was closely involved in the formation of the Reptile Keepers
Association in 1984, and together with that organisation initiated
discussions on reptiles and amphibian licensing with the NSW National
Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). After a long and often frustrating
twelve years of meetings, which had to cope with changes of government,
new directors and restructuring of the NPWS, a new licensing system was
established in NSW in 1997. This new system has opened up herpetoculture
in this state, allowing interested keepers to legally acquire and transfer
stock and disseminate information on husbandry and breeding without
fear of prosecution.
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