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60.04.09

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Ferdinand von Mueller to the Council of the Royal Society of Victoria, 1860-04-09. 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/1860-9/1860/60-04-09-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

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Letter not found. The text given here is from Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria , vol. 4, Appendix (B60.14.02). The published text is followed by a 79-page report.
Melbourne, 9th April, 1860.
The Committee appointed by the Royal Society has now the honor to present the Report which it was instructed to prepare upon "The Resources of the Colony of Victoria," and regrets the delay which has taken place in the preparation of this document.
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The report was prepared in response to a circular from the Society of Arts in London, requesting from the various colonies of the British Empire 'information that would serve to give publicity to their resources, and tend to increase the demand for their productions'. The request was received at a meeting of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria on 23 June 1859 and a committee appointed to prepare a report; others were added to the committee at the Institute's meeting on 14 September 1859, 'owing to the difficulty and labor attached to the drawing up of a report'.
Originally appointed in September last, before the end of that month the Committee met, and having carefully considered the task entrusted to it, determined on subdividing the whole subject, and appointed sub-committees of its members to prepare reports on each of these sub-divisions as follows:—
I.—Climate, Extent, and general Capabilities of the Soil of the Colony. Professor Neumayer, Messrs. Hodgkinson, Skilling, Ellery, and Dr. Macadam, M.L.A.
II.—Mineral Resources. Professor McCoy, Messrs. Selwyn, Bland
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R. H. Bland.
, and Dr. Macadam, M.L.A.
III.—BUILDING MATERIALS. Messrs. J. G. Knight, Holmes, A. K. Smith, and the Hon. Captain Pasley.
IV.—Indigenous Vegetable Resources. Dr. Mueller, Dr. Macadam, M.L.A., and L. Becker, Esq.
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B60.14.03.
V.—Agriculture and Horticulture. Dr. Mueller, Messrs. Skilling, Bryson, Jones, and Corbett.
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B60.14.01.
VI.—Animal Products. The Rev. J. J. Bleasdale, Messrs. Bryson, Becker, and Professor McCoy.
VII.—Harbors, Rivers, and Internal Communication. H. Amsinck, Esq., R. N., Messrs. Bell,
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Francis Bell.
Bryson, Hodgkinson, Knight, Ligar, Captain Ross, R.N., and Professor Irving.
The gentleman whose name appears first in each list undertook the duties of chairman of that sub-committee.
It was originally hoped that the Report might have been thus prepared by the end of January; but this was found impossible. Delay was caused by the necessity of collecting information on several branches of the enquiry throughout the colony; and in addition to this, as almost every member of the Committee has his time fully occupied with duties, public or private, great difficulty was experienced in bringing together the sub-committees; and from the delay of the partial reports, the publication of the whole has been until now impossible.
No attempt has been made to fuse together the several partial reports into one connected whole; they have merely been arranged in the order that seemed most suitable.
None can be more fully aware than your Committee of the imperfections of this Report; but it has been judged wiser to present it even in its present form than to seek to perfect it through longer delay.
The members of the Committee have endeavored to discharge the duty imposed on them to the best of their ability, and imperfect though their Report may be, they trust that it will not be without value, as conveying to a certain extent an accurate and authentic account of the Resources of Victoria.
(Signed) FERD. MUELLER,
Chairman of the Committee;
M. H. IRVING,
Secretary of the Committee.