The South Australian Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia was formed in 1967. In the following year Dr EA Cornish delivered the Branch’s first lecture, on the topic “Yield Trends in the Wheat Belt of South Australia 1896-1964". In 1990 the Branch received its Certificate of Incorporation.
Since the first meeting in 1968 the SA Branch has held over 400 meetings. Between the mid-1970s to 2001 most of talks were hosted by the CSIRO at Waite, as during this period the CSIRO employed a thriving group of statisticians. It was typical for several talks each year to be presented by overseas and international visitors.
Since 2001 meetings have typically been held at a city campus of a South Australian university. Many talks in recent years have concerned the application of statistical methods to health data which is a reflection of the strong growth in the number of statisticians in Adelaide employed in health-related statistical research and practice.
The Branch has promoted the study of statistics by awarding scholarships to young statisticians. Over the years scholarships have been awarded to students going onto study Honours in statistics and to support students or early career statisticians to attend SSA’s Australian Statistical Conference and the Young Statisticians’ Conference.
In 2001 the Branch inaugurated a biennial series of public lectures on statistical topics of broad interest. The lecture series commemorates Alf Cornish, a leading figure in the early years of the statistical profession in Adelaide. See the EA Cornish lecture series page for details of the lecture series and the life of Alf Cornish.
History Documents
@StatSocAus
