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G72/2606, unit 750, VPRS 44/P inwards registered and unregistered correspondence, VA 538 Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Public Record Office, Victoria. 72.04.09Preferred Citation:
Ferdinand von Mueller to James Grant, 1872-04-09. 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/1870-9/1872/72-04-09-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026
1
MS written by Georg Luehmann and signed by M. MS is a copy of M to C. Duffy, 11 March 1872, with some changes as noted below.
9th April 1872.
Sir
In compliance with your instructions I have the honor of submitting to you an estimate
of the expenditure, which I would recommend for the service of the Botanic Garden
during the financial year from 1st July 1872 till 30th June 1873.
|
Government Botanist and Director (with quarters)
|
£610
|
|
Clerk
2
and Accountant
deleted.
3
In the version sent to Duffy, this line is followed by one making provision for an
amount of
£150 as
salary of a Head Gardener, with a justification provided in the explanatory notes.
|
£160
|
|
Wages of Gardeners, one Laboratory Operator, one Museum Attendant, one Signwriter,
one Artisan, one botanical Collector, one Carter, one Enginedriver, one Messenger
and several Laborers
|
£2320
4
£2370 in the letter to Duffy.
|
|
Expense of publishing Works on Australian Plants, and purchase of Museum Material,
Plants and Seeds
|
£230
5
£130 in the letter to Duffy.
|
|
Stores, Timber, Stationery, Bricks Flowerpots, Waterpipes, Drainpipes, Paint, Tools,
Glass, Coal for engine and conservatories &c
|
£220
|
|
Forage for one cart horse and Food for birds and other animals
|
£80
|
|
Incidental, Transit and Travelling Expenses
|
£140
|
|
Reward to Orphan boys, to be placed into the Savings Bank
|
£91
|
|
Cartage of Street Manure
|
£40
|
|
Test Plantations in the Ranges
|
£120
|
|
Books and Instruments
|
£80
6
A bracket with annotation in an unidentified hand ‘New Items’ has been put around
the final four items
in the list.
|
|
Total
|
£4091
|
Remarks.
The Directors position is heavily taxed by many expenses in relation to foreign interchanges,
scientific communications abroad, calls of visitors, for which the votes make no provision.
The Director lives merely in an office, ever since 1857, not even a single private
room being provided. A small item is now provided for books and instruments, even
that expenditure having fallen largely on his private means formerly, so office light,
personal travelling expenses, much of the outlay for conveyance to proceed to town
offices. The Director has no allowance for a servant, nor for a horse, nor forage
&c.
It was considered desirable that the salary of the Clerk and Accountant, hitherto
paid out of the general wages vote, should appear as a separate item; this is therefore
not a new expenditure, and the item for Wages voted last year is lessened to the same
amount.
The item for publishing Works on Plants includes a grant to the President of the Linnéan
Society
for 30 copies of the work published by him and Baron Von Mueller in England.
7
George Bentham.
8
Bentham (1863-78).
The item for incidental expenses includes outlays for small repairs
The new item of gratuity to the boys of the Industrial Schools is to reward them in
succession and rotation for good conduct, and particularly for securing the safe going
to and from the barracks, without further loss of time of the gardeners, to watch
over the arrival and departure of the various sets of boys over the extensive ground.
The obtaining of street-scrapings for manure through the only cart and horse of the
Department is an impossibility; hence the small new item.
As a trial for tea growth and other industrial cultures, in first instance at Fernshaw
seems highly desirable to me the sum for one test plantation is provided. It is kept
as small as possible, and as it will form a strict branch of the Botanic Garden Department,
it is recommended that this sum be placed at the disposal of the Director, and not
be incorporated in the vote for the Forest Department.
9
Vic.
No provision is made for the Inspector of Forests
on these estimates, as the Director understands, that the services of this officer
now are to be devoted entirely to urgent forest-work.
10
William Ferguson.
11
In the estimates ordered to be printed
on
16 July 1872 (Victoria Parliamentary Paper, 1872 B 5, p. 38)
,
salary provision was made for M, the Inspector of Forests and a
c
lerk, in a total of £4
,
741 for the Botanic Gardens. However, this estimate was replaced by an 'Amended estimate
for the Botanic Garden, etc, 1872-3' (Victoria Parliamentary Paper, 1872 B 8) ordered
to be printed
on
29 August 1872. The amended estimates had specific subdivisions: Botanic gardens with
M's salary unchanged and all other expenses including wages totalling £1,990
;
Government House Domain with a Curator (vacant, no salary provision) and a total of
£1,315/10/0 for wages and other expenses; Forests, with a salary of £250 for Inspector
of Forests and Overseer of proposed state nursery at Macedon (and £230 for wages and
other expenses there).
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your very obedient servant
Ferd. von Mueller,
Government Botanist and Director of the
Botanic Garden
The Honorable the President of the Board of Land and Works.