The Launceston Field Naturalists Club was formed on 21 October 1949 at a meeting convened by members of the Northern Branch of the Royal Society. At the first general meeting on 21 November 1949, the Club objectives were set as "the encouragement of the study of nature and the collection, preservation and systematic classification of specimens". ;;Some early club members were John Rowland Skemp, Dr WK McIntyre, Herbert King, Norton Harvey, Thomas Burns. Lord Talbot de Malahide was appointed patron in 1968.;;Today the club's aim is to "encourage the study of all aspects of natural history and to support the conservation of our natural heritage". ;;;;