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75.08.00

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to [Thomas Elder], 1875-08. 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/1870-9/1875/75-08-00-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

1
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Mr Ernest Giles' Expedition', an account of the first part of Giles' fourth expedition, from Central Australia to Perth, that was published in South Australian register, 20 August 1875, p. 4. Thomas Elder is the probable recipient of M's letter as the article is introduced by 'By the courtesy of the Hon. Thomas Elder we have been placed in possession of particulars respecting Mr Giles' exploratory movements during the past three months'. The report was republished elsewhere, e.g. Ballarat star, 27 August 1875, p. 4.
[A long line of imperfectly known country has been mapped, and numerous specimens illustrative of the geology and natural history of the district have been collected. The botanical specimens have already been forwarded to Baron von Mueller for classification, and in a letter, acknowledging their arrival in Melbourne, that gentleman expresses his belief that two or three of the plants are new, and that many of the others are of considerable geographical interest.
2
The plants found in the period covered by the article were not separately published and are presumably included in M's three-part 'List of the plants obtained during Mr. C. [E.] Giles's travels in Australia in 1875 and 1876' that dealt with the third and fourth expeditions (B77.09.01, B77.10.01 and B77.11.03). They had apparently been held back in the expectation of a published account of the journeys, to which they would have been added as an appendix similar to that accompanying the account of Giles's previous expeditions B75.13.05 (see B77.09.01, p. 269).
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