Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne botanic Garden

26 Oct 1870

Sir

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 2952,

1

W. Odgers to M, 24 October 1870.

conveying the censure of the honorable the Chief Secretary in reference to the present appearance of the botanic Garden. This is the first time during 17 years of administration and 13 years of Directorship, that a letter of censure is sent to me. It has given me very much pain , because it seems to imply, as if it was through my administration, that the want of order arose. I beg now of you, to take the earliest opportunity of recalling to the recollection of the hon. the Chief Secretary, that my authority is seriously impaired by the Inspector of Forest, who utterly disregards my position of Director, who withdraws himself utterly from my control, who usurpated largely my Directorial power and who carried the obstruction of my orders even so far, as to prevent within the last weeks, when he was absent for a few days on forest duty at Ballarat, an implicit order of mine to Gardener Bourke to be carried out, thus even paralyzing my Directorship when he himself is away.

When the boys from the Sunbury institution arrived, I placed them myself in special charge of the different gardeners, but many of those working outside have been moved from place to place without my knowledge and consent. The boys near my office and in the three nurseries are under strict control; over those of the general ground I am powerless; some will not work properly and ought to be removed again.

I should have raised long before this a direct complaint in writing, beyond what I have done already, about the great encroachment on my Directorial position, had I not understood in May last, that the occupation here of the Inspector of the forest was a temporary arrangement, and had I not anticipated, that the order of the hon. John M'Pherson, given by him when he was Chief Secretary, that the Inspector of forests should hold himself ready for exclusive forest duty,

2

See notes to W. Odgers to M, 24 March 1870.

would have obtained effect before this.

It will be known to Sir Jam. M'Culloch, that I am the main founder of the botanic Garden in all its branches, that I have spent the best years of my life in the service, and given all my time and all my means to my Department, private property included! It is therefore unnecessary to add, that I do take a deep interest in the work of my own creation, and would soon set the disorderly portions of the ground right, if I was not impeded in my authority. Whole lines of planted trees have been moved and unique specimen trees cut down without my order, while I was never yet a day absent from the Garden while the forest Inspector was here. I beg in conclusion from the Chief Secretary to give me an opportunity to explain to him still fuller by waiting on him, that I am blameless in reference to any disorderly appearance of the garden, which certainly should not extensively exist, while no new progressive work is going on.

W. H. Odgers Esq. &c.

Undersecretary

The Inspector of forests has had the unlimited control over all the outdoor Gardeners ever since December last, when he came here.