Baron ferdinand von mueller (1825-1896) -
botanist and explorer
Baron von Mueller was a botanist, pharmacist and explorer and best known for the work he did for the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne.
He is widely considered to be the leading Australian botanist of the 19th century discovering and naming thousands of plant species unknown at the time, including the macadamia tree. Although commonly considered to be German, he was in fact of Danish descent, growing up in Schleswig-Holstein, which at the time was part of Denmark and arrived in Australia on a Danish passport. |
Early years in Australia
Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich Müller was born on 30 June 1825 in Rostock, Schleswig-Holstein. He was the only surviving son of Fredrick Müller and his wife Louise (nee Mertens) who both died of tuberculosis when Mueller was very young. He and his two sisters went to live with their grandparents and Mueller got an apprenticeship with a chemist at the age of 15. In 1847 he graduated from the University in Kiel with a doctorate in philosophy.
Due to his sister’s poor health and possibly his own (with five other siblings also having died from TB when they were younger), he was advised to seek a drier climate. Mueller and his two sisters travelled to Australia in 1847 and arrived in Adelaide where Mueller found work as a chemist. He even bought land and had a cottage built in the Bugle Ranges. In 1849, he was naturalised as a British subject and anglicized his name from Müller to Mueller.
In 1851 Mueller moved to Melbourne initially with the intention of opening up a pharmacy. Instead he was appointed the first Government Botanist of Victoria in 1853, a position, which was created for him by Lieutenant-Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe. Mueller held this position for 43 years until his death in 1896.
Due to his sister’s poor health and possibly his own (with five other siblings also having died from TB when they were younger), he was advised to seek a drier climate. Mueller and his two sisters travelled to Australia in 1847 and arrived in Adelaide where Mueller found work as a chemist. He even bought land and had a cottage built in the Bugle Ranges. In 1849, he was naturalised as a British subject and anglicized his name from Müller to Mueller.
In 1851 Mueller moved to Melbourne initially with the intention of opening up a pharmacy. Instead he was appointed the first Government Botanist of Victoria in 1853, a position, which was created for him by Lieutenant-Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe. Mueller held this position for 43 years until his death in 1896.
melbourne botanical gardens
In 1857 Mueller also took on the role as Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, which at the time also housed the colony’s zoo. His assistant was another Dane, Jens Lyng. Mueller was bilingual, fluent in both Danish and German. He kept in regular touch with the Director of the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen and would communicate in Danish.
Mueller also established contacts with other gardens from around the world exchanging seeds and plants and thereby ensuring a large-scale distribution of plants and flowers. However, Mueller’s view of the garden as a scientific and educational resource clashed with local nurserymen who wanted to develop it as a public pleasure space, an English-styled landscape garden with statues and art works. In 1873, Mueller’s position as director of the garden was abolished, effectively dismissing him, much to his dismay. It was during his time at the Botanical Gardens that Mueller was responsible for building what is now known as the National Herbarium of Victoria, the oldest scientific institution in the state. He named more than 2,000 new plant species and acquired over half of today’s collection. Within a year of securing a building to house the collection in 1861, Mueller increased the |
collection from 45,000 to 160,000 specimens and under his direction the Melbourne herbarium became one of the world’s greatest. Today the collection comprises approx. 1.4 million specimens.
Mueller was also an avid writer, publishing more than 800 papers, articles and books on botany including Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae, which was published over the period of 1858-82.
Mueller was also an avid writer, publishing more than 800 papers, articles and books on botany including Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae, which was published over the period of 1858-82.
Statue of Baron von Mueller in the Botanical Gardens and the National Herbarium of Victoria which he set up in 1861.
mueller - the explorer
He travelled extensively in Victoria and across Australia conducting botanical studies. His many field expeditions, often conducted alone, contributed significantly to Australian botany taking him to areas such as Mount Buffalo, Mount Buller, Port Albert, the Grampians, Snowy River, as well as Western Australian forests and coasts as far north as Shark Bay. He was also instrumental in promoting explorations of Antarctica and New Guinea.
In 1855-57, he joined the A.C.Gregory expedition to Northern Australia exploring the Victoria River and Sturt Creek in the Northern Territory as well as Moreton Bay in Queensland, travelling 5,000 miles in 16 months and observing 2,000 species, 800 of which were new to science. It was at Moreton Bay that Mueller discovered the Macademia tree, indigenous to Australia, naming it after his Scottish-Australian friend Dr. John Macadam, a scientist and secretary to the Philosophical Institute of Australia.
In 1855-57, he joined the A.C.Gregory expedition to Northern Australia exploring the Victoria River and Sturt Creek in the Northern Territory as well as Moreton Bay in Queensland, travelling 5,000 miles in 16 months and observing 2,000 species, 800 of which were new to science. It was at Moreton Bay that Mueller discovered the Macademia tree, indigenous to Australia, naming it after his Scottish-Australian friend Dr. John Macadam, a scientist and secretary to the Philosophical Institute of Australia.
recognition of mueller's work
During his career he founded the Royal Society of Victoria and was President of the Victorian Royal Geographical Society. At the age of 36, he was elected to membership in the Royal Society of London and in 1871 he was made a Baron by the King of Wurtemberg and later knighted by Queen Victoria in 1879. He was also given the Order of Dannebrog by the Danish King.
Mueller died on 10 October 1896 and was buried at St Kilda Cemetery. Following his death, the Mueller Medal was created by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to recognise important Australian contributions to science.
His name is also commemorated in many species, in the title of the scientific journal published by the Melbourne Herbarium, Muelleria as well as geographical features around Australia such as the Mueller Ranges in WA, Mueller Glacier in New Zealand, and Mount Mueller in WA, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria.
Mueller died on 10 October 1896 and was buried at St Kilda Cemetery. Following his death, the Mueller Medal was created by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to recognise important Australian contributions to science.
His name is also commemorated in many species, in the title of the scientific journal published by the Melbourne Herbarium, Muelleria as well as geographical features around Australia such as the Mueller Ranges in WA, Mueller Glacier in New Zealand, and Mount Mueller in WA, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria.