Document information

Physical location:

Sammlung Perthes Archiv,SPA ARCHPGM328,Forschungsbibliothek Gotha der Universität Erfurt. 76.01.00

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to August Petermann, 1876-01. 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/76-01-00>, accessed September 11, 2025

1
MS annotation by Petermann: 'Erh. 24. Febr. 1876' [Received 24 February 1876]. The item is dated on the basis of M to J. MacPherson, 1 January 1876, which mentions that M received Thomas Elder's letter (see below) in the evening of 31 December; M must have forwarded this to Petermann in early January 1876 in order for it to reach Gotha by 24 February.
For a published version of this letter, see Voigt (1996), pp. 128-9.
Ich habe Ihnen zu danken edler Freund, für die Zusendung der beiden kleinen Universalkarten Australiens, aus welchen ich ersehe, dass Ihnen die Forschungen vom Daintree-River, Palmer River &c zugänglich oder bekannt geworden sind. Wenn wir auf Ihrer neuen Karte anstatt des Planes von Sydney (der 2ten nicht der ersten Stadt Australiens) eine Zeichnung Tasmaniens bekämen, dann würde sich die Geographie Australiens auf diesem Blatt vollständig abrunden.
Über Giles's letzte merkenswerthe Reise berichte ich nicht speziell, weil Ihnen von dem nähern Schwan-Fluss aus die gedruckten Berichte schneller zukommen werden, als ich solche von hier geben kann. Das beigefügte Schreiben des braven Mr Elder wird Sie aber interessieren.
Stets verehrungsvoll
Ihr Ferd. von Mueller
I have to thank you, noble friend, for sending me the two small universal maps of Australia, from which I see that the explorations of the Daintree River, Palmer River &c have become accessible or known to you.
2
See M to A. Petermann, 28 November 1875. M is probably referring to the expedition in north-eastern Queensland by William Hann in 1872.
If we could have a drawing of Tasmania on your new map instead of the town plan of Sydney (the 2nd not the first city of Australia), then the geography of Australia would be rounded off completely on this sheet.
3
Each of Australien Maassstab 1:10.000.000 (1875) and Australien Maassstab 1:10.000.000 (dated 1875 but 1877?) have a map of 'Sydney and Port Jackson' at a scale of 1:150,000 inset in the Great Australian Bight (digitiseed by the National Library of Australia as https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232625532/ and https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232218071 respectively. The equivalent map of 1869 did not include the Palmer and Daintree rivers, see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232223665.
I am not going to report specially on Giles's last remarkable journey, because the printed reports will reach you more quickly from the closer Swan River
4
i.e. Perth, WA. The map of Ernest Giles's expedition had already been sent to Petermann from Adelaide; see G. Goyder to M, 31 December 1875.
than I could give them from here. The enclosed letter of the worthy Mr Elder
5
See T. Elder to M, 21 December 1875 (in this edition as 75-12-21a).
will, however, interest you.
Always respectfully your
Ferd. von Mueller