Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne bot. Garden,

4/8/65.

Sir Redmond.

I have the honor of submitting to you a Parliamentary record from New South Wales, by which you will see that the valuable Library & Collection of prepared plants of Prof Lindley are offered at an extremely low price for sale. In the present financial difficulty of the Government of N.S.W I consider it very unlikely that the offer will be accepted there. The next is to be made to Melbourne, then to Brisbane & Calcutta. I am not aware that any collections exists in Brisbane & hence I do not think that for augmentation of an Australian collection an Extra-australian will be purchased, as would be desirable in regard to the institution founded by myself, to which such a collection of plants would be most valuable, though the share of extra-australian plants in my museum is as large as the Australian ones.

But the object of my adressing your Honor is more particularly to suggest, whether not united action could be taken by the public Library, the Parliamentary Library, the University Library and the botanical museum Library to secure Prof Lindleys books separately for Victoria. The amount to be paid by each institution would be only £100 to £200 — according to its requirements & none would need to take a work, which it already possessed. So for instance the Parliamentary Library could receive the Bot. Register & Bot Magazine, which both costly works, are already as well in your noble public Library contained as in mine.

I would be very glad if some preliminary arrangements could be made so as to enable us to open negotiations with Prof Lindley's family by next mail.

1

See Lucas (2008) for the fate of Lindley's library and herbarium.

His Honor

Sir Redm. Barry, LLD,

Chancellor of the University and Chairman of the Trustees of the public Library.