Document information
Physical location:
R68/17158, unit 750, VPRS 44/P inward registered and unregistered correspondence, VA 538 Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Public Record Office, Victoria. 68.11.28Preferred Citation:
[...] to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1868-11-28. 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/1860-9/1868/68-11-28-final.odt>, accessed June 9, 2026
Office of Lands and Survey,
Melbourne, 28th November, 1868.
Sir,
In acknowledgment of your communication of 27th ultimo,
urging your exemption from payment of Ferry charges at Jolimont, whilst in the execution
of Official garden duty, I beg to state that all Government Officials, including members
of the Board of Land and Works, pay when they cross ferries, the ordinary fares charged
by the licensed ferryman
1
M to J. Grant, 27 October 1868.
I have the honor to be
Sir,
your most obedient Servant
[...]
2
illegible signature.
for Commissioner of Lands and Survey
The Government Botanist,
&c &c &c
Melbourne
3
M responded in a minute dated 3 December: 'I beg respectfully to draw attention to
the circumstance, that the ferry from which exception of fare for the botanic establishment
(and of course also members of the board of Land & Works) is sought, has its buildings
within the area under the control of myself on behalf of the Board of Land and Works,
so that perhaps an apt recognition of authority over the ferry might be favorably
considered on the occasion when the tender is to be renewed. Then also perhaps it
might be advantageous to introduce a clause into the tender, by which the Director
of the botanic Garden on behalf of the Board of Land & Works would be authorized,
to give such orders to the ferryman, as might at any time be imperative for the preservation
of order and for the safety and the convenience of the public. An augmentation of
the rent might also perhaps be deemed right by the Board.'
MS annotation
:
'no decision 15.12.68 Sch: 68/57'.
M persisted in his attempt to get free passage by supporting an additional ferry—not
run, so as to avoid a monopoly, by the existing ferryman Brandon—with a provision that members and officers of the Board of Lands and Works
and Garden staff be exempt when using it on public duty (M to C. Hodgkinson, 18 February 1869). Later, in M to C. Hodgkinson, 30 June 1869, he drew attention to the cheap rent that Brandon had enjoyed since the floods of 1863.