The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: Melbourne bot. Garden ¶ 4. May 1858. ¶ Sir ¶ ¶ I have the honor to solicit, that I may be permitted to receive for the botanical gardens some manure from the Port Phillip Farmers Society Cattle yard....

Document information

Physical location:

Unit 10, VPRS 3622 inward miscellaneous correspondence, VA 511 Melbourne, Public Record Office, Victoria. 58.05.04

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to [...] Riley, 1858-05-04. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id//letters/1850-9/1858/58-05-04-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

Melbourne bot. Garden

4. May 1858.

Sir

I have the honor to solicit, that I may be permitted to receive for the botanical gardens some manure from the Port Phillip Farmers Society Cattle yard.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

your most obedient and humble servant

Ferd. Mueller, M.D., Ph.D.,

Gov. Botanist & Director of the bot. Gardens.

Mr Riley,

Town Clerk of Melbourne

Melbourne’s Town Clerk was Edmund FitzGibbon and it was he who responded to M’s request; see E. FitzGibbon to M, 8 May 1858. Riley may have been one of FitzGibbon’s subordinates. There was a Councillor at the time named Francis Reilly, but it is hard to see why M would have written to him on this subject or addressed him as ‘Town Clerk’.