Ferdinand von Mueller
Encyclopedia
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG (German: Müller) (30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian
physician
, geographer
, and most notably, a botanist.
, Germany
. After the early death of his parents, Frederick and Louisa, his grandparents gave him a good education in Tönning
, Schleswig
. Apprenticed to a chemist
at 15, he passed the pharmaceutical examinations and studied botany under Professor Ernst Friedrich Nolte (1791–1875) at Kiel University. He received his Doctor of Philosophy
in 1847 from Kiel for a thesis on the plants of the southern regions of Schleswig
His sister Bertha had been advised seek a warmer climate for her health, and the great botanist Ludwig Preiss
, who had recently returned from Perth, recommended Australia so in 1847 he and his two sisters sailed from Bremen. It is said that, still on the ship, he already fished the first plants out of the water to analyse them.
He arrived at Adelaide
on 18 December 1847 and found employment as a chemist with Moritz Heuzenroeder, in Rundle Street
. He was an inveterate explorer, walking alone to Mount Arden and Mount Brown during his first year. Shortly afterwards, he obtained 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of land not far from Adelaide in the Bugle Ranges, and had a cottage built. He moved there with his sister Clara, intending to start a farm, but after a few months returned to his former employment.
He thought to open a chemist's shop in the gold diggings so he moved to Melbourne
, capital of the new colony of Victoria
in 1851. He had contributed a few papers on botanical subjects to German periodicals, and in 1852 sent a paper to the Linnean Society of London
on "The Flora of South Australia", so he would have been well-known in botanical circles.
He was appointed Government Botanist for Victoria by Governor Charles La Trobe
in 1853 (a post that was newly created for him), and examined its flora, and especially the Alpine vegetation of Australia, which was previously unknown. He explored the Buffalo Ranges
, then went to the upper reaches of the Goulburn River
and across Gippsland
to the coast. The neighbourhoods of Port Albert and Wilsons Promontory
were explored, and the journey of some 1500 miles (2,414 km) was completed along the coast to Melbourne
In the same year, he established the National Herbarium of Victoria
, which can still be visited today. It has many plants from Australia and abroad, many of which were collected by Mueller. Also, his large private library was transferred to the Government of Victoria in 1865 and is incorporated into the Library of the Herbarium in Melbourne.
Then, as phytographic naturalist, he joined the expedition sent out under Augustus Gregory
by the Duke of Newcastle
, Secretary of State for the Colonies. He explored the Victoria River and other portions of North Australia, was one of the four who reached Termination Lake in 1856, and accompanied Gregory's expedition overland to Moreton Bay
. Mueller, for his part, found nearly 800 species new to Australia. He published in this year his Definitions of Rare or Hitherto Undescribed Australian Plants.
From 1854 to 1872, Mueller was a member of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science, which later became the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. He was President of the Philosophical Institute in 1859 when it received a Royal Charter and became the Royal Society of Victoria
. He was an active member of the Society's "Exploration Committee" which established the Burke and Wills expedition
of 1860. Mueller promoted the exploration of Australia, and as one of only two members of the Exploration Committee with any experience of exploration, he made several speeches to the Society on the topic. He did not favour the selection of Burke
as leader and, unfortunately, had little say in the establishment, provisioning and composition of the exploration party due to factionalism in the committee.
From 1857 to 1873, he was director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
, and not only introduced many plants into Victoria, but made the excellent qualities of the blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus
) known all over the world, and succeeded in introducing it into the south of Europe, North and South Africa, California, and the extratropical portions of South America.
For these services, Mueller was decorated by many foreign countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and Portugal. He was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society
in 1861, and knighted as KCMG
in 1879. A list of his 'Orders, offices, affiliations and sundry honours' has been assembled
He was the benefactor of explorer Ernest Giles
, the discoverer of Lake Amadeus
and Kata Tjuta
. Giles had originally wanted to name these Lakes Ferdinand and Mt Mueller, but Mueller prevailed upon Giles to name them Lake Amadeus, after King Amadeus of Spain, and Mt Olga, after Queen Olga of Württemberg, both of whom had granted him honours. In 1871, King Karl of Württemberg and Queen Olga gave him the hereditary title of Freiherr
, to mark his distinction in 'natural sciences generally and in particular for the natural history collections and institutions of Our Kingdom' He was then known as Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. .
By 1873, influential Melburnians were critical of Mueller's scientific and educational approach with the Royal Botanic Gardens. Development of the gardens with an eye to aesthetics was looked for. Mueller was dismissed from his position as Director of the Botanic Gardens on 31 May 1873. Mueller had done much to develop the Gardens with the scarce resources at hand. Though his pay was not affected and he still continued as the government botanist, he never lost his sense of grievance over losing the position.
In April 1873, Mueller had created the genus Guilfoylia and described William Guilfoyle
as "distinguished as a collector [who] evidenced great ardour" and held high hopes for his collecting ability. Mueller's opinion changed when Guilfoyle was appointed to take his place as Director of the Botanic Gardens in July 1873. He accused Guilfoyle of being a "nurseryman [with] no claims to scientific knowledge whatever" and of getting the job due to being related to the wife of the responsible Minister. Mueller subsequently abolished Guilfoylia as part of the genus of Cadellia in his botanical census of 1882. Guilfoyle went on to landscape the gardens in an aesthetic and pleasing style welcomed by most Melburnians.
In 1873, Mueller received an honorary doctorate of the University of Rostock
; in 1883, he was awarded the Clarke Medal
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
.
He published eleven volumes of Fragmenta phytographica Australiae (1862–1881), two volumes of the Plants of Victoria (1860–1865), and other books on the Eucalyptus
, Myoporaceae
, Acacia
, and Salsolaceae, all profusely illustrated. He also co-operated in the production of George Bentham
's Flora Australiensis
. He described many novel plant species sent by botanists from other parts of Australia, notably Maurice William Holtze
from the Northern Territory. He took a leading part in promoting Australian exploration, especially the Burke and Wills expedition
, which was the first to cross the continent, and in the various attempts to unravel the mystery which attended the fate of his fellow countryman Ludwig Leichhardt
(1813–1848).
Mueller died in Melbourne and is buried in the St. Kilda Cemetery. His grave is against the southern wall. He was survived by his sister, Mrs. Clara Wehl, of Millicent, South Australia
. His other sister, Mrs. Bertha Doughty of near Penola
predeceased him. He never married.
), Muellers Range (Queensland
), Mount Mueller (in WA, Northern Territory
, Tasmania
and Victoria
) and Mount von Mueller (WA), Muellers Peak (New South Wales
), the Mueller River
(Vic), Muellers Creek (South Australia
) and Mueller Creek (NT), Lake Mueller(Qld), and Mueller hut near the Mueller Glacier
in New Zealand. Mueller Park
, Subiaco (WA) is also named after him.
A Victorian Railways diesel-electric locomotive S311 is named after Mueller.
German Australian
German religious refugees represented the first major wave of German settlement in Australia, arriving in South Australia in 1838. Some were active as missionaries and explorers in Australia from early in the 19th century, and German prospectors were well-represented in the 1850s gold rushes...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
, and most notably, a botanist.
Early life
Mueller was born at RostockRostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. After the early death of his parents, Frederick and Louisa, his grandparents gave him a good education in Tönning
Tönning
Tönning is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During the Great Northern War, Tönning was besieged twice.-Geography:...
, Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
. Apprenticed to a chemist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
at 15, he passed the pharmaceutical examinations and studied botany under Professor Ernst Friedrich Nolte (1791–1875) at Kiel University. He received his Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1847 from Kiel for a thesis on the plants of the southern regions of Schleswig
His sister Bertha had been advised seek a warmer climate for her health, and the great botanist Ludwig Preiss
Ludwig Preiss
Johann August Ludwig Preiss was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia...
, who had recently returned from Perth, recommended Australia so in 1847 he and his two sisters sailed from Bremen. It is said that, still on the ship, he already fished the first plants out of the water to analyse them.
He arrived at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
on 18 December 1847 and found employment as a chemist with Moritz Heuzenroeder, in Rundle Street
Rundle Street, Adelaide
Rundle Street is a street in the East End of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street in the west to East Terrace, where it becomes Rundle Road. Its former western extent, which ran to King William Street, was closed in 1972 to form the pedestrian street of Rundle Mall...
. He was an inveterate explorer, walking alone to Mount Arden and Mount Brown during his first year. Shortly afterwards, he obtained 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of land not far from Adelaide in the Bugle Ranges, and had a cottage built. He moved there with his sister Clara, intending to start a farm, but after a few months returned to his former employment.
He thought to open a chemist's shop in the gold diggings so he moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, capital of the new colony of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in 1851. He had contributed a few papers on botanical subjects to German periodicals, and in 1852 sent a paper to the Linnean Society of London
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
on "The Flora of South Australia", so he would have been well-known in botanical circles.
Victorian Government Botanist
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
in 1853 (a post that was newly created for him), and examined its flora, and especially the Alpine vegetation of Australia, which was previously unknown. He explored the Buffalo Ranges
Mount Buffalo National Park
Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau in Victoria , 200 km northeast of Melbourne. It is one of the oldest parks in the Australian Alps, being first established in 1898 when 1165 ha was reserved around Eurobin Falls...
, then went to the upper reaches of the Goulburn River
Goulburn River (Victoria)
The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia.The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation...
and across Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
to the coast. The neighbourhoods of Port Albert and Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...
were explored, and the journey of some 1500 miles (2,414 km) was completed along the coast to Melbourne
In the same year, he established the National Herbarium of Victoria
National Herbarium of Victoria
The National Herbarium of Victoria is one of Australia’s premier state herbaria. It was established in 1853 and is sited within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. The present building was constructed in 1934 through a donation from philanthropist Sir Macpherson Robertson. It, along with a...
, which can still be visited today. It has many plants from Australia and abroad, many of which were collected by Mueller. Also, his large private library was transferred to the Government of Victoria in 1865 and is incorporated into the Library of the Herbarium in Melbourne.
Then, as phytographic naturalist, he joined the expedition sent out under Augustus Gregory
Augustus Gregory
Sir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...
by the Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which has been created three times in British history while the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne has been created once. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 when William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
, Secretary of State for the Colonies. He explored the Victoria River and other portions of North Australia, was one of the four who reached Termination Lake in 1856, and accompanied Gregory's expedition overland to Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
. Mueller, for his part, found nearly 800 species new to Australia. He published in this year his Definitions of Rare or Hitherto Undescribed Australian Plants.
From 1854 to 1872, Mueller was a member of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science, which later became the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. He was President of the Philosophical Institute in 1859 when it received a Royal Charter and became the Royal Society of Victoria
Royal Society of Victoria
The Royal Society of Victoria is the oldest learned society in the state of Victoria in Australia.The Royal Society of Victoria was formed in 1859 from a merger between The Philosophical Society of Victoria and The Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science , both founded...
. He was an active member of the Society's "Exploration Committee" which established the Burke and Wills expedition
Burke and Wills expedition
In 1860–61, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres...
of 1860. Mueller promoted the exploration of Australia, and as one of only two members of the Exploration Committee with any experience of exploration, he made several speeches to the Society on the topic. He did not favour the selection of Burke
Robert O'Hara Burke
Robert O'Hara Burke was an Irish soldier and police officer, who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled...
as leader and, unfortunately, had little say in the establishment, provisioning and composition of the exploration party due to factionalism in the committee.
From 1857 to 1873, he was director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over...
, and not only introduced many plants into Victoria, but made the excellent qualities of the blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus
Eucalyptus globulus
The Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum or Blue Gum, is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m tall. The tallest currently known specimen in Tasmania is 90.7 m tall...
) known all over the world, and succeeded in introducing it into the south of Europe, North and South Africa, California, and the extratropical portions of South America.
For these services, Mueller was decorated by many foreign countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and Portugal. He was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1861, and knighted as KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1879. A list of his 'Orders, offices, affiliations and sundry honours' has been assembled
He was the benefactor of explorer Ernest Giles
Ernest Giles
William Ernest Powell Giles , best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia.- Early life :...
, the discoverer of Lake Amadeus
Lake Amadeus
Lake Amadeus is a huge salt lake in the southwest corner of Australia's Northern Territory, about 50 km north of .-Physical features and nearby landmarks:...
and Kata Tjuta
Kata Tjuta
Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuṯa , and also known as Mount Olga , are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia...
. Giles had originally wanted to name these Lakes Ferdinand and Mt Mueller, but Mueller prevailed upon Giles to name them Lake Amadeus, after King Amadeus of Spain, and Mt Olga, after Queen Olga of Württemberg, both of whom had granted him honours. In 1871, King Karl of Württemberg and Queen Olga gave him the hereditary title of Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
, to mark his distinction in 'natural sciences generally and in particular for the natural history collections and institutions of Our Kingdom' He was then known as Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. .
By 1873, influential Melburnians were critical of Mueller's scientific and educational approach with the Royal Botanic Gardens. Development of the gardens with an eye to aesthetics was looked for. Mueller was dismissed from his position as Director of the Botanic Gardens on 31 May 1873. Mueller had done much to develop the Gardens with the scarce resources at hand. Though his pay was not affected and he still continued as the government botanist, he never lost his sense of grievance over losing the position.
In April 1873, Mueller had created the genus Guilfoylia and described William Guilfoyle
William Guilfoyle
William Robert Guilfoyle was a landscape gardener and botanist in Victoria, Australia, acknowledged as the architect of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and was responsible for the design of many parks and gardens in Melbourne and regional Victoria.-Early life:Guilfoyle was born in Chelsea,...
as "distinguished as a collector [who] evidenced great ardour" and held high hopes for his collecting ability. Mueller's opinion changed when Guilfoyle was appointed to take his place as Director of the Botanic Gardens in July 1873. He accused Guilfoyle of being a "nurseryman [with] no claims to scientific knowledge whatever" and of getting the job due to being related to the wife of the responsible Minister. Mueller subsequently abolished Guilfoylia as part of the genus of Cadellia in his botanical census of 1882. Guilfoyle went on to landscape the gardens in an aesthetic and pleasing style welcomed by most Melburnians.
In 1873, Mueller received an honorary doctorate of the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
; in 1883, he was awarded the Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...
.
He published eleven volumes of Fragmenta phytographica Australiae (1862–1881), two volumes of the Plants of Victoria (1860–1865), and other books on the Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, Myoporaceae
Myoporaceae
Myoporaceae is a family of plants, found mostly in Australia, which includes the following genera:* Diocirea* Eremophila, also known as Emu Bush* Myoporum, also known as Boobiala...
, Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, and Salsolaceae, all profusely illustrated. He also co-operated in the production of George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
's Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
. He described many novel plant species sent by botanists from other parts of Australia, notably Maurice William Holtze
Maurice William Holtze
Maurice William Holtze, born in Hanover, Germany, was a botanist who established Darwin's Botanical Gardens in Fannie Bay Darwin in 1878...
from the Northern Territory. He took a leading part in promoting Australian exploration, especially the Burke and Wills expedition
Burke and Wills expedition
In 1860–61, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres...
, which was the first to cross the continent, and in the various attempts to unravel the mystery which attended the fate of his fellow countryman Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
(1813–1848).
Mueller died in Melbourne and is buried in the St. Kilda Cemetery. His grave is against the southern wall. He was survived by his sister, Mrs. Clara Wehl, of Millicent, South Australia
Millicent, South Australia
Millicent is a town in South Australia, south-east of Adelaide, and north of Mount Gambier. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,771.The town is home to the Millicent National Trust Museum, and is nearby to the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park and the Canunda National Park.The Millicent...
. His other sister, Mrs. Bertha Doughty of near Penola
Penola, South Australia
Penola is located 388 km south east of Adelaide and is in the heart of one of South Australia's most productive wine growing areas. Coonawarra lies just to the north and is renowned for the quality of its red wines...
predeceased him. He never married.
Places named after Mueller
A number of geographical features were named after Mueller: the Mueller Ranges (Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
), Muellers Range (Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
), Mount Mueller (in WA, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
) and Mount von Mueller (WA), Muellers Peak (New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
), the Mueller River
Mueller River
The Mueller River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally north from its sources in the Southern Alps, reaching the Turnbull River 14 kilometres from the latter's mouth. The entire length of the Mueller River is within Mount Aspiring National...
(Vic), Muellers Creek (South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
) and Mueller Creek (NT), Lake Mueller(Qld), and Mueller hut near the Mueller Glacier
Mueller Glacier
The Mueller Glacier is a long glacier flowing through Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies to the south of Aoraki/Mount Cook, high in the Southern Alps, and flows north...
in New Zealand. Mueller Park
Mueller Park
Mueller Park is a park in Subiaco, Western Australia, situated between Perth Modern School and Subiaco Oval. It originally comprised the land area which included Subiaco Oval and in the early 1900s housed tennis, croquet, bowls, cricket and football clubs....
, Subiaco (WA) is also named after him.
A Victorian Railways diesel-electric locomotive S311 is named after Mueller.
Artworks based on Mueller
- Love, Death, Music and Plants, a music theatre work based on scenes from the life of Mueller, was written by Brian Lipson (writer) and Matthew HindsonMatthew HindsonMatthew John Hindson AM is an Australian composer.-Biography:Matthew Hindson was born in Wollongong in 1968. He studied composition at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne with composers including Peter Sculthorpe, Eric Gross, Brenton Broadstock and Ross Edwards.Hindson's works have been...
(composer), and had a two-week season at the Mueller Hall, National Herbarium of VictoriaNational Herbarium of VictoriaThe National Herbarium of Victoria is one of Australia’s premier state herbaria. It was established in 1853 and is sited within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. The present building was constructed in 1934 through a donation from philanthropist Sir Macpherson Robertson. It, along with a...
, 18–30 November 2003.
See also
- List of Australian plant species authored by Ferdinand von Mueller
- Systematic Census of Australian PlantsSystematic Census of Australian PlantsThe Systematic census of Australian plants, with chronologic, literary and geographic annotations, more commonly known as the Systematic Census of Australian Plants, also known by its standard botanic abbreviation Syst. Census Austral...
- Burke and Wills expeditionBurke and Wills expeditionIn 1860–61, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres...
- Cape Leeuwin Wattle
Additional publications online
- Index perfectus ad Caroli Linnaei : species plantarum / collatore Ferdinando de Mueller. (1880)
- Eucalyptographia. A descriptive atlas of the eucalypts of Australia and the adjoining islands (1879–1884)
- Select extra-tropical plants readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalisation (1891)
- Introduction to botanic teachings at the schools of Victoria (1877)
- The organic constituents of plants and vegetable substances and their chemical analysis(1878)
- Manuel de l'acclimateur(1887)
- Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ /contulit Ferdinandus Mueller (1858 – 18820
- The plants indigenous to the colony of Victoria, Volume 1(1860–1862)
External links
- Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
- Brief biography at ANBG.
- "An historical review of the exploration of Australia" Online transcript at Burke & Wills Web of Mueller's talk to the Philosophical Institute of Victoria given on 25 November 1857.
- Burke & Wills Web A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
- The Burke & Wills Historical Society The Burke & Wills Historical Society.