Ferdinand von Mueller

Inglewood

1

Vic.

February 13th 1860

Dr Mueller, President of the Royal Society of Victoria &c &c

Dear Sir,

I venture to trouble you with this letter for the purpose of enquiring if there be any chance of my being chosen as one of the party in the projected exploring Expedition.

2

The expedition of which Robert O'Hara Burke was appointed leader on 30 June 1860 and which became known as the Burke & Wills Exploring Expedition, 1860-1. Woolridge was not appointed by Burke to the Expedition party. See M et al. to the Royal Society of Victoria, December 1860 (in this edition as 60-12-00).

In putting forward his claims to any post, an applicant can scarcely avoid the danger of appearing as a self-lauding egotist; at the risk however of placing myself in such an unenviable light, allow me to give my reasons for considering myself qualified for the appointment I am so desirous of obtaining:

For the last seven years, with the exception of a few brief intervals, my dwelling has been a tent and bush-life has become familiar to me with all its inconveniences and makeshifts; I know how to bend a bit of iron hoop so as to do passable service as a gridiron and I have often cooked my dinner at the end of a pointed stick, promoted for the occasion to the office of toasting fork. (It may here be suggested that to an explorer the very food itself is often wanting; be it so, in such a case, my stomach would doubtless grumble but I would endeavour to bear the privation with equanimity.)

During the period I have resided in this Colony, I have traversed a considerable portion of it on foot; I have ascended Mt Ida, Mt Mistake, Ben Nevis, Mt Cole and Mount William

3

Mountains in Victoria.

; and once when my affairs called me from Pleasant Creek

4

Now Stawell, Vic.

to Melbourne, instead of taking the direct route, I journeyed on foot to Warrnambool and thence to Geelong solely for the purpose of visiting the lakes and the 'wonderful' Stoney Rises in the district I had to pass through. I mention this in proof of my excursionist predilections.

Allow me further to state that I am a pretty good swimmer and a tolerable shot; that I know a little of Botany, something of Geology, something of Zoology, and much more of Medicine and Surgery, having been a member of the London College of Surgeons &c and in active practice for a number of years.

Lastly, permit me to assure you that, if chosen, I should in my allotted place, strive to carry out the objects of the Expedition not coldly with the mere idea of a task to be got through, but with a love for the labour itself, and an enthusiasm sustained with the knowledge that I was engaged in a grand enterprise which, in its accomplishment, will constitute for long years if not for ages to come, the highest glory of the Colony of Victoria

P.S. Before closing this letter, I cannot forbear mentioning that some years ago I had the honor and pleasure of being introduced to you; but I can scarcely hope, after this lapse of time, to recall the circumstance to your memory by saying that in the course of conversation you stated, as a fact likely to be interesting to me as a medical man, that the leaves of the so-called native fuchsia might be used as a substitute for those of the Buchu;

5

The name applied to several species of the South African genus Ayathosma, tinctures or infusions of which are used as a diuretic or to treat urinary tract infections, and which contain essential oils with antiseptic properties (Moolla et al. (2007)).

or by telling you that on meeting with you subsequently at the Melbourne Exhibition I directed your attention to some circular markings in a piece of clay-slate contained in a small case of geological specimens collected by me at McIvor and for which an honorable mention was awarded to me. —

6

'A case of geological specimens from the M'Ivor gold field and its vicinity, shewing the co-existence of gold with other minerals' (Official catalogue of the Melbourne exhibition ,1854, in connexion with the Paris Exhibition 1855 (1854?), p. 9).