Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not found. The text given here is from Western mail (Perth), 14 July 1894, p. 29 (B94.07.02). It is introduced by ' Mr. Bernard H. Woodward , Curator of the Geologi c al Museum, has re ceived the following letter from Baron Ferd. von Mueller, with regard to th e National Park of 160,000 acres recently reserved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands:—'.

It was extremely pleasing to me, dear Mr. Woodward, to re c eive your communication

2

Letter not found.

of what has been done by the West Australian Government in securing the perpetuity of the flora and fauna of the vast Western Australian territory .

3

Woodward was a prime mover in the creation of a flora and fauna reserve of 64,000 ha in 1894 at South Dandalup on the Darling Escarpment, but this was later incorporated into a State Forest, with priority for management for timber extraction (Historical encyclopedia of Western Australia, pp. 622, 381).

I wrote dire c t in appreciation to th e Hon. Sir John Forrest about the measures adopted, as I pleaded personally here for this su bject both with His Ex cellenc y Sir William Robinson and Sir John Forrest, and conveyed also my views in writing;

4

Letters not found. Robinson was in Melbourne at the end of June and early July (West Australian, 27 June 1894, p. 5); Forrest was in Melbourne in early 1893 (Leader , 11 February 1893, p. 23).

but I am particularly glad, as one of the most extensive personal investigators of the Australian flora, on whi ch again di rectly o r indirectly its fauna depends, that so large, and so hilly, and therefore naturally so secure an area, is set apart for this enlight ened purpose.

5

In 1896 M was evidently intending to purchase land adjacent to the reserve ; see M to L. Smith, 12 September 1896.

But I pointed out to your distinguished Premier that it provides only for the fl o ra of the most so u t h -western part of your large territory. T h e tropical latitudes are not much in dang er of any of its organ isms be c oming exti nc t, as the vegetation extends q u ite across to Queensland in m o st parti cu lars, b u t the largely pe culiar vegeta tion of the sandplain s towards the lower Murchison River and the prevailing e ndemi c vegetation on the eastern slope of the hills towards York will still require reservation also, unless the costly, laborious, and precarious process is adopted, to transplant from these regions the very numer ou s spe c ies of plants not o ccu rring in the area already reserved. Western Australia in its extra-tropic regions has a more endemi c flora than any other of the Australian c olonies, hen c e the need there for these timely reservations before their pristine vegetable features get defaced or quite obliterated, are more urgent i n Western Australia than elsewhere on the Australian continent.