Thomas Kirk, botanist and the first curator of the Auckland Museum, discovered a new species of Isoetes (I. alpina) on a tour to the Waikato with his friend, and Institute member, Captain Hutton.
Kirk presented his findings at the Institute’s general monthly meeting on 18 October 1869.
He found other new species of quillwort in 1876 in ‘our central and alpine lakes’. You can see one of those specimens here.
Thomas Kirk, botanist and the first curator of the Auckland Museum, discovered a new species of Isoetes (I. alpina) on a tour to the Waikato with his friend, and Institute member, Captain Hutton.
Kirk presented his findings at the Institute’s general monthly meeting on 18 October 1869.
He found other new species of quillwort in 1876 in ‘our central and alpine lakes’. You can see one of those specimens here.
In October 1869 the necessary arrangements had been made for Museum and Institute to officially become one organisation. A promise was made to preserve the collection and keep admission free. The Institute then governed the Museum for 127 years until 1996.
In 1996 the Institute became an independent body but retained important roles such as appointing four members to the Museum’s Trust Board. As a learned society it continues to feed the curious minds of its members and Aucklanders with lectures by leading thinkers, field trips, and Museum tours. And as a membership body it also supports curatorial research such as the Kermadec Islands and Southwest Pacific marine expeditions.