Document information

Physical location:

Z71/12461, unit 576, VPRS 3991/P inward registered correspondence VA 475 Chief Secretary's Department, Public Record Office, Victoria. 71.09.27

Preferred Citation:

William Odgers to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1871-09-27. 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/1870-9/1871/71-09-27-final.odt>, accessed May 10, 2026

Chief Secretary's Office,
Melbourne, 27 Sept. 1871
Sir ,
I have the honor to request that you will be good enough to return to this Office (with as little delay as possible), the correspondence mentioned in the margin,
1
Marginal annotation: 'William Smith. memo respecting his services in Botanical and Zoological Gardens'. This is presumably M's minute of 17 May given in n. 2 to M to W. Odgers, 11 May 1870 (in this edition as 70-05-11a).
which was referred to you on the 23rd May. 1870.
2
MS annotation, 27 September 1871, signed by M: 'Request complied with. These are all the memoranda from W. Smith at my office.'
The encosed memoranda have not been identified; they may include those sent about the difficulties with wandering cows when Smith was based at the north ground of the Garden (Zoological reserve) after the report about his fornicating made in D. Coller to M, 10 March 1866 (see, for example, W. Smith to M, 4 January 1869). No memoranda from Smith to M after M recommended his discharge in M to J. McCulloch, 23 April 1870 (in this editition as 70-04-23c) have been found. He is included among those discharged in the list in M to J. McCulloch, 7 May 1870 (in this edition as 70-05-07b).
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
W. H. Odgers
The Director
The Botanical Gardens.