Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne bot. Garden,

7/1/67.

Sir

I have the honor to draw the attention of the city council to the circumstance, that great inconvenience & injury arises to my establishment by the ingress of cattle from the Yarra reserve under municipal control into the northern reserve of my ground. I beg to append a letter on the subject from the gardener especially entrusted with the management of that division of the bot. Garden area.

1

See W. Smith to M, 5 January 1867. See also M to E. FitzGibbon, 21 January 1867.

Feeling convinced that so enlightened a Council as that of the City of Melbourne will be ready to promote by any collateral aid the extension & preservation of the park-plantations around the metropolis, I do not hesitate to recommend for the Councils favorable consideration that the Yarra Park may be abandoned as a grazing ground and so excellent and lovely a locality be further embellished by tree-plantations. Under any circumstances all my efforts to decorate my northern reserve with avenues will be paralyzed, unless the cattle are removed from the adjoining land & the exclusion of these and goats & other pastoral animals be rigorously enforced. I may mention, that four or five years ago the Government relinquished the rent, previously raised for depasturing on the reserve between the City bridge & the botanic Garden in order that the valuable land near the city might be rendered more useful than that of an ordinary pasture. By this wise measure, I was enabled to convert several hundred acres to an incipient pine & oak forest and draw through it numerous avenue lines, of which the citizens now already derive great advantage. The small income levied from grazing fees on such land, I respectfully submit, is entirely out of proportion to the disadvantages arising from loss of time in forming the needful plantation and from more or less destruction of whatever may have been raised in the neighbourhood. Besides the time of my employees is most dishearteningly taxed in keeping at least to some extent the invading cattle from their ground. If my own improvements on the north-ground are not to be frustrated and if avenues are next season to be formed in the yarra-park, I must respectfully advise the immediate discontinuance of the grazing on that spot and the slight repair needed at the Punt road fences.

2

MS annotation on file cover: 'Dr Mueller must make provision for keeping the cattle out by extending the fence'. See also E. FitzGibbon to M, 11 February 1867.

I should be happy to furnish early in May (as at the best time of the year) the needful number of trees for any plantations the city council may decide on in the Yarra park, if previously the ground for their reception could be prepared.

I avail myself of this opportunity to remark, that I received no answer to an application, made a few months ago,

3

See M to E. FitzGibbon, 18 September 1866, and M to E. FitzGibbon, 5 October 1866.

soliciting that the sum of ten pounds sterling might be placed at my disposal for forming a path from the new bridge of the botanic Garden to the gate next to the Police depot on the Parade Road leading to Richmond.

I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient

The townclerk

Melbourne.