Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not found. The text given here is from Otago University Professorship. Application & testimonials of Rev. John I. Bleasdale, D.D., F.G.S. (Melbourne: Mason, Firth, & M'Cutcheon, 1870); Folder 1, box 56, James Hector correspondence received, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Archives, Wellington.

See also M to J. Hector, 5 December 1870 (in this edition as 70-12-05a).

Melbourne Botanic Gardens, 5th December, 1870.

The Rev. Dr. Bleasdale having drawn my attention to the fact that he is a candidate for the Otago Professorship of Chemistry and Mineralogy, as applied to Mining and Agriculture, it affords me very great pleasure to support the rev. gentleman's application for this professorial position.

It has been my happy lot to be acquainted with Dr. Bleasdale for about a dozen years, during which I witnessed not only his unabating zeal and public spirit for scientific progress in this colony, but also his wide range of knowledge of the Natural Sciences, and the important influence he thereby exercises on such utilitarian pursuits as the production of the best of wines, and the recognition of precious stones, &c.

The rev. doctor held and holds leading positions at the Exhibition Commissions, Industrial Museums, Royal Society, Board of Health, Board of Education, and has ever been active to diffuse his scientific knowledge and to institute independent researches. While it will be a great loss to Victoria should he leave us here, he is sure to carry into the Otago University, as a professorial docent, rare qualities for instruction, resting on the labours and experience of several decennia.