# PRESIDENT'S REPORT
1962
This is the third Annual General Meeting of the Society since its revival in December 1959. During 1962 the work of the Society, judging by the popularity of the lectures and the success of the Journal, has shown a vitality which has justified the initial promise of the first two years, and has established its position as a permanent factor in the intellectual life of the community in Hong Kong.
The ten public meetings at which lectures were delivered were again all consistently well attended. The first two in January and February were held at the premises of the British Council, through the good offices of the Representative Mr. R. E. Lawry, who is also our Honorary Secretary. By the beginning of our third year the audiences had outgrown the normal capacity of the British Council Room and it was opportune that just then the City Hall with its admirable facilities became available for our subsequent meetings. The term "lecture" has now become inappropriate and somewhat of an anachronism in connection with meetings such as those of the Society. I recall an Annual General Meeting of the North China Branch held in Shanghai about twenty-five years ago when the late Mr. A. de C. Sowerby, the well-known naturalist and curator of the Society's museum, in his Annual Report referred to the "lectures" which had been given during the year. "Of these," he said, "two were illustrated with both motion pictures and ordinary lantern slides, seven were illustrated with lantern slides only, the remainder being without illustrations. It is evident that lantern slides form an added attraction, since it was noticeable that, regardless of the subject, lectures so illustrated were markedly better attended than those that were not." To some extent the same may be said of the more sophisticated audiences of Hong Kong today. However, the lectures that were not illustrated were of such interest that they brought excellent audiences, while those which were illustrated had the advantage of brilliant colours, such as Mr. Nixon's slides of flowers and Mr. Hugh Gibb's documentary films, and this added greatly to their popularity. The fantastic
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
1962
This is the third Annual General Meeting of the Society since its revival in December 1959. During 1962 the work of the Society, judging by the popularity of the lectures and the success of the Journal, has shown a vitality which has justified the initial promise of the first two years, and has established its position as a permanent factor in the intellectual life of the community in Hong Kong.
The ten public meetings at which lectures were delivered were again all consistently well attended. The first two in January and February were held at the premises of the British Council, through the good offices of the Representative Mr. R. E. Lawry, who is also our Honorary Secretary. By the beginning of our third year the audiences had outgrown the normal capacity of the British Council Room and it was opportune that just then the City Hall with its admirable facilities became available for our subsequent meetings. The term "lecture" has now become inappropriate and somewhat of an anachronism in connection with meetings such as those of the Society. I recall an Annual General Meeting of the North China Branch held in Shanghai about twenty-five years ago when the late Mr. A. de C. Sowerby, the well-known naturalist and curator of the Society's museum, in his Annual Report referred to the "lectures" which had been given during the year. "Of these,” he said, "two were illustrated with both motion pictures and ordinary lantern slides, seven were illustrated with lantern slides only, the remainder being without illustrations. It is evident that lantern slides form an added attraction, since it was noticeable that, regardless of the subject, lectures so illustrated were markedly better attended than those that were not." To some extent the same may be said of the more sophisticated audiences of Hong Kong today. However, the lectures that were not illustrated were of such interest that they brought excellent audiences, while those which were illustrated had the advantage of brilliant colours, such as Mr. Nixon's slides of flowers and Mr. Hugh Gibb's documentary films, and this added greatly to their popularity. The fantastic
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