The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: ¶ We the undersigned members of the Medical Society request you will be good enough to call a special meeting of the Members at an early date, to memorialize the Council of the University of Melbourn...

Document information

Physical location:

Minute book, Medical Society of Victoria, Australian Medical Association, Melbourne. 63.11.00

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to the Medical Society of Victoria, 1863-11. 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/1860-9/1863/63-11-00-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

Letter not found; text is from the minutes of a special meeting of the Medical Society of Victoria held on 2 December 1863 at which 'The President called upon the Secretary to read the petition of members which had induced him to summon this meeting as follows:−'.

We the undersigned members of the Medical Society request you will be good enough to call a special meeting of the Members at an early date, to memorialize the Council of the University of Melbourne so to alter the time over which the studies required by the Medical Curriculum extend as to make it equal with that prescribed by the best schools of Grt Britain.

At the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the Society, 13 January 1864, the 'meeting was then made special' to receive the report of a subcommittee appointed at the meeting of 2 December to 'draw up a protest against the curricula of studies directed for candidates for medical and surgical degree at the university of Melbourne'. The long protest document comparing the nature and length of the curricula at British universities and that at Melbourne was adopted unanimously and a deputation appointed to present it to a meeting of the University Council (Argus, 14 January 1864, p. 6; Australian medical journal, February 1864, pp. 51-5).

Signed	Wm Thomson
	Wm Farrage
	Wm Gillbee
	Ferd. Mueller
	J. Black 3 Or T. Black? Both Joseph Black and Thomas Black were members of the Society, but Joseph Black appears to have been a more active member; see Medical Society of Victoria to Australian medical practitioners, 5 May 1865 (in this edition as M65-05-05).
	John Macadam
	John Bleasdale
	Edw Wilson
	Fred. Lloyd
	John Blair