RSWA Medal

{{Short description|Award by the Royal Society of Western Australia}}

{{Use Australian English|date=February 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}

{{distinguish|Kelvin Gold Medal}}

The RSWA Medal is an award from the Royal Society of Western Australia, established to honour outstanding work and achievement in science relative to Western Australia.

In 1924, the Royal Society of Western Australia decided to commemorate the centenary of the birth (26 June 1824) of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin. The event was marked by the creation of the Gold Medal of the Royal Society. The award was established to honour outstanding work and achievement in science relative to Western Australia.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31241264 |title=THE ROYAL SOCIETY. |newspaper=The West Australian |volume=XL |issue=6,902 |location=Western Australia |date=10 July 1924 |accessdate=20 August 2016 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}} {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31239254 |title=KELVIN CENTENARY. |newspaper=The West Australian |volume=XL |issue=6,893 |location=Western Australia |date=30 June 1924 |accessdate=20 August 2016 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}} Miss Enid Isabel Allum, of 7 Richardson Street West Perth was commissioned to design the medal for £5-5-0 honorarium. Miss Allum was a member of the Royal Society of Western Australia, and had previously been Treasurer and Social Committee member. The Royal Mint at Perth commissioned the firm of Messrs. Stokes & Co, of Melbourne to produce the dye for the medal. In 1924, the inaugural medal was presented to Dr. William John Hancock. The first three medals were struck in gold in 1924, 1929, and 1933, and ever since the medals have been struck in silver. It is also known as the Kelvin Gold Medal.{{cite web|title=Medal of the Royal Society of Western Australia|url=http://www.rswa.org.au/awards/RSWAmedal.aspx|publisher=The Royal Society of Western Australia|accessdate=20 August 2016}}

In 2013, the RSWA Medal was renamed the RSWA Forrest Medal in honour of Sir John Forrest.Jenkins, C. F. H. (1965). A history of the Royal Society of Western Australia, and its role in the community. In Presidential Address. (48): 33-44.Bougher, A., & Semeniuk, V. (1991). A Bibliography and Index to the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. Royal Society of Western Australia. (74): 1-35.Recher, H. (1998). A brief history of the Journals, Crests, Medal and Seal of the Royal Society of Western Australia and previous Societies, 1897-1997. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. (81): 1-4.