Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne, 8 November 1878.

To His Excellency, General Sir H. Ord, K.C.M.G.,

Governor of West Australia.

Sir,

Availing myself of the privilege, granted so considerately by your Excellency, to make a new selection of 2000 acres of Land anywhere in West Australia on behalf of Mr E. Giles,

1

See M to M. Fraser, 7 July 1878.

I now have the honor to apply for an area as above indicated within the following boundaries:

On the eastward by the western boundary of the Perth townsite; on the north by purchased land, known as the Lime-Kilns &c; on the south by land on the Fremantle Road and on the west by sea-coast land.

Should these boundaries not be sufficiently accurately defined, then I beg, that the hon. John Forrest may be allowed to determine the precise limits of the 2000 acres on my behalf at his discretion. With the same Gentleman are also lodged the needful documents, which authorize me to select on Mr Giles's behalf, the right of doing so having been purchased by me for eight hundred pounds Sterling cash, paid long ago

Your Excellency will be aware, that the grant, now selected, was made by the Earl Carnarvon as Minister of State for the Colonies and by the West Australian Government in appreciation of the important geographic explorations effected by Mr Giles in West Australia; and I feel sure, it was the intention of the Minister of State and of your Excellency's predecessor and his hon. advisers, that this gift of the crown should be commensurate with the persevering and heroic efforts of a distinguished Explorer, who was again drawn by my own propositions and financial aid into his luminous path of discovery.

I may be allowed to add, that it is not my intention (unless by the urgency of circumstances unforeseen) to dispose of the grant of land, for which I now humbly solicit, by sale or otherwise; contrarily it is my wish to connect the estate, now selected at Perth, with my rank and title as a commencement of acquiring land-property in West Australia, a colony in which I have taken, so far as the elucidation of its resources is concerned, an unabating interest since more than 20 years, at no inconsiderable sacrifice of private means of my own.

Should your Excellency be pleased to approve of this selection, now made by me, I should then solicit, that the crowngrant may be transmitted for Mr Giles to my adress.

2

MS annotation: 'Ansd 26.11.78'; see R. Goldsworthy to M, 26 November 1878 (in this edition as 78-11-26a), in which M was informed that the land he had requested had been set aside as Commonage for the city of Perth, so that his request could not be granted.

There is a copy of M's letter marked 'Duplicate Copy', written by G. Luehmann and signed by M (SDUR/G4/325g [Cons 5000], State Records Office of Western Australia, Perth). The two versions are identical except for minor differences in the use of punctuation and capital letters. The duplicate accompanied M to H. Ord, 26 November 1878.

I have the honor to be, your Excellency's most obedient servant