Dr James Hector sent a letter to the Institute containing the good news that it would soon become a branch of the New Zealand Institute.
James Hector was the governor of the New Zealand Institute, and a key figure in promoting scientific knowledge in New Zealand. He was also in charge of the colonial geological survey.
The New Zealand Institute is now called the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Three other societies from Wellington, Canterbury, and Dunedin also became branches at the same time as Auckland.