Ferdinand von Mueller

1

MS annotation by Petermann: 'Erh. 20. Juni 1869. | A. 21. N' | [Received 20 June 1869. Answered 21 June 1869]. See Petermann's reply for a better understanding of the subject matter under discussion. For a published version of this letter, see Voigt (1996), pp. 90-1.

Melbourne, im botanisch. Garten

am 22. April 1869.

Privat

Es wird Ihnen bekannt sein, verehrter Herr Professor, dass vor einigen Jahren das Gerücht durch die Eingebornen im Innern von Westaustralien verbreitet wurde, Dr Leichhardt sei an einem See im Innern jenes Colonial Territoriums gefallen. So erfuhren wir damals von Mr F. Roe, dem Sohne des berühmten Capt Roe. Die Aussage der Eingebornen war aber ebenso vage als die der Schwarzen von Coopers Creek; doch man hoffte, dass McIntyres Zug das Ganze aufklären würde. Seitdem hat sich aber dies Gerücht erneuet, u. zwar, wie Sie aus dem beigefügten Blatte ersehen werden, durch die Forschungen nach Weideland, welche im letzten September von Mr Monger angestellt wurden. Es war nun meine Pflicht, die Sache weiter aufzunehmen; allein die Dürre u Schrecknisse der 2 Jahre, während welche die Damen-Expedition sich im Feld bewegte, hatte den spärlichen Fond, der nur etwa ein Achtel von dem betrug, was Neumayer neulich forderte, erschöpft, u. es war mir unmöglich hier irgend wie neues Interesse zu erwecken u neue Gaben zusammen zu bringen. Unter diesen Umständen sprach ich meinen Freund, den Herrn F. Barlee, den Colonial Secretär von Westaustralien[...]

2

An unknown amount of text missing.

weiten dazwischen liegenden Innern rechnen dürfen. Es mag gelegentlich eine Stelle geben, wo gewisse geologische Verhältnisse die Scene ändern, aber diese localen Verhältnisse werden nicht neue Hypothesen rechtfertigen. Ein Mann von mathematischen u physikalischen Kenntnissen wie Dr Neumayer, sollte meines Erachtens innerhalb der Niederlassungen seine schönen Untersuchungen fortführen ohne Menschenleben in Gefahr zu bringen u enorme Ausgaben, die auch hier keines wegs bewilligt werden, herbeizuführen. Sind doch noch nicht einmal alle Ausgaben für die Burke & Wills Tragödie abgezahlt. Glauben Sie aber ja nicht, dass ich nicht tiefes Interesse an N.

3

Neumayer's.

Untersuchungen nehme. Ich bin nicht vermessen, wenn ich glaube, dass N. es mir namentlich dankte, dass er im Jahre 1857 hier in Australien, wie er mittellos kam, Fuss fasste u. seine Stellung begründet sah.— Um so mehr hat es mich befremdet dass in allen Schriften, die aus seinem neuen Vorschlag hervorgingen, meiner eignen Arbeiten gar nicht Erwähnung geschehen, obgleich ich bei 10 Jahr sein Senior in Australien bin. Ja es sollte beinahe erscheinen, als ob die phytographischen Studien erst beginnen sollten! Wenn ein berühmter englischer Freund, der freilich die Verhältnisse Australiens geographisch nicht kennt, von den verunglückten Expeditionen redet, so vergass er, dass diese Expeditionen ausser der von Burke u Wills stets über unzulängliche Mittel nur geboten u dass Jahre der Dürre Schrecknisse für den Kundigsten u Bravsten herbeiführen, denen der Glücklichere u. vielleicht weniger Bewanderte in regnigten Jahren leicht entrinnen mag

Ich habe die Arbeiten an den Materialien für den 5ten Band des Universalwerkes über die Pflanzen Australiens vollendet u. arbeite nun am 7ten Band der Fragmenta

4

There is no valediction; the final two sentences are written in the margins of the page.

Melbourne Botanic Garden

22 April 1869.

Private

You will no doubt be aware, esteemed Professor, that a few years ago the rumour was spread through Aborigines from the interior of Western Australia that Leichhardt had perished at a lake in the interior of that colony's territory. We learned of this at the time from Mr F. Roe, the son of the famous Captain Roe. However, the assertions of the Aborigines were just as vague as those of the blacks of Coopers Creek; yet it was hoped that McIntyre's expedition

5

Ladies' Leichhardt Search Expedition, 1865-6, under Duncan McIntyre.

would clear up the whole matter. Since then this rumour has been revived and, as you will see from the enclosed paper,

6

Enclosure not found.

through exploration for grazing land carried out during September last by Mr Monger. It was now my duty to take the matter further, but the droughts and the horrors of the past 2 years, while the ladies' expedition was in the field, had exhausted the meagre fund which amounted to merely one eighth of what Neumayer recently demanded,

7

Georg Neumayer visited England from Germany in the spring of 1868 to promote a proposed exploring expedition through Central Australia from Queensland to Western Australia. Papers by him on the subject were read to the Royal Society on 14 May and the Royal Geographical Society on 8 June (see Neumayer (1868), Neumayer (1868b)) that were subsequently reported at length by Petermann (1868). Neumayer's plan involved putting a party of 25 men into the field for a period of three and a half years, at an estimated cost of £21,530. Petermann's article was accompanied by a map that included Neumayer's proposed route as well as the routes of previous expeditions. The National Library of Australia digitized copy of the map is at http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232095526 .

and I found it impossible to re-awaken any new interest here and collect further contributions. Under these circumstances I spoke with my friend, Mr F. Barlee,

8

See M to F. Barlee, 28 February 1869, and M to F. Barlee, 28 February 1869 (in this edition as 69-02-28c).

the Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, [...]

9

An unknown amount of text missing. The missing text almost certainly described the expedition being sent out by the WA Government, under the leadership of John Forrest, in search of clues to Leichhardt's fate. See M to F. Barlee, April 1869 (in this edition as 69-04-00f), and M to R.Murchison, 24 April 1869 (in this edition as 69-04-24a).

we may expect in the vast interior lying in between. There may be an occasional place, where certain geological conditions alter the scene, but these localised conditions would not justify putting up new hypotheses. A man like Dr Neumayer with knowledge of mathematics and physics should, in my view, carry out his splendid researches within settlements without endangering human lives and running up enormous expenses, which would in any case never be granted. Not all the expenses for the Burke and Wills tragedy

10

Burke & Wills Exploring Expedition.

have as yet been paid even now. You must not think, however, that I do not evince great interest in Neumayer's researches. I am not presumptious when I believe that Neumayer has largely me to thank that in 1857, when he arrived here in Australia without any means, he was able to settle here and see his position established.

11

M was one of the principal donors to the fund set up by Melbourne's German community in 1857 to support Neumayer's work, when the Victorian Government initially declined to do so; he gave £25. He seems here to imply something more than this.

I was all the more taken aback that in all the publications arising out of his new proposition, my own labours have not been mentioned at all, even though I am his senior in Australia by 10 years. Yes, it would almost seem as if phytographic studies still had to begin!

12

M had arrived in Australia in 1847. M here overlooks an earlier period that Neumayer spent in Australia, in 1852-4. As M complains, his name is not mentioned by Neumayer in connection with either his botanical work or his achievements as an explorer. Worse, Petermann in his account of Neumayer's proposal quotes a comment by Richard Owen that 'of no part of the Earth are Englishmen so ignorant of the natural products'. Worse still, in setting an agenda of botanical research for the expedition, Neumayer referred only to research on plant physiology and plant geography, seemingly dismissing taxonomic work as unimportant; and when he cited a locally-based authority on Australian exploration, he cited Tenison Woods, not M.

When a famous English friend who, of course, is not familiar with the geographical conditions in Australia, speaks of the failed expeditions, he forgot that these expeditions, with the exception of that of Burke and Wills, always had only inadequate means at their disposal, and that years of drought led to horrors even for the most experienced and most courageous, which in years with more rainfall the more lucky and perhaps less proficient might easily escape.

I have concluded my work on the materials for the 5th volume of the universal work on the plants of Australia

13

Bentham (1863-78), vol. 5.

and am now working on the 7th volume of my Fragmenta.