To Dr. F. Mueller.
Sydney 8th April 1857.
Sir,
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th relative to the damage by salt water of one of the packages of Botanical Specimens, which has been received per "Messenger"
Having examined the package in question I regret to find that it contains perhaps the most important part of the Collection from N. W. Australia as the specimens are the result of your labors in the Interior, which not having been before examined, afforded a greater number of rare plants than any other part of the journey, and the Expedition and science have thereby suffered an irrepairable loss.
For your own satisfaction I beg to state that it is especially in my recollection, that you availed yourself of every means at your disposal to secure this package from injury by the casualties [to]1 which it would probably be exposed in its transit to Sydney.
Having refered to Mr Baines, he has reported to me on the probable cause of the destruction of this important part of your Collection, which does not appear to have resulted from any want of care.2
I regret extremely that this untoward accident should have occurred especially as it is also a loss to yourself personally.
I have &c
A. C. Gregory.
On 7 April 1857 Gregory wrote to T. Baines: 'One of the Packages of Botanical Specimens, marked as per margin [A quarter cask marked DR MUELLER and other marks now illegible] having been destroyed by the effects of salt water apparently during the period of its being on board the "Messenger" I have to request your statement respecting the cause of damage which has occurred while in your charge.' (MS Q430, p. 14).
Baines replied on 7 April 1857: 'I have to say that I regret exceedingly that any damage should have occurred to any portion of the Expedition Stores while in my charge, and more particularly to so important a part of them as the Scientific collection of Dr Mueller. The cask in question was securely stowed on board the "Tom Tough" on leaving the Victoria River, but when that vessel had to be exchanged for the "Messenger" in Sourabaya I was obliged, by the nature of the business I had to transact, to be nearly all the time in town two miles from where the ships were lying. The service on which you sent me was such that an hour's unnecessary delay in my return to the Exploring party could not have been justified I was therefore unable to be constantly present during the transfer of the cargo from the hulk in which they were temporarily stowed to the Messenger and entrusted that duty to the Overseer (Mr Phibbs) who performed it with every possible care, reporting progress whenever I was able to visit him. As soon as we were fairly at sea I went through the hold with Mr Phibbs placing the valuable or perishable packages in the most secure parts of the vessel and taking account of them in a document which I have the honor to enclose and from which I extract the following entry referring to the cask above mentioned, "Dr Mueller/Specimens/Starboard side/1 cask/" The place referred to was on the starboard side about four feet above the ballast and it appeared to me free from the remotest chance of damage by the access of water. I had the Specimens on deck to air when the weather or other circumstances permitted, I went down frequently to look to their safety and at other times sent Mr Phibbs or the men to do so. A long continuance of hot dry weather caused the deck seams to leak, and though a dry vessel there was always a little water in the hold which the sand ballast prevented from running to the pumps, this when the weather became bad spirted through the "skin" or interior lining at every roll but so far as possible I guarded against it and I can only account for the damage by supposing either that I was mistaken in the identity of the cask or that since I last saw it, in the place I have mentioned it has been accidentally moved while sails or other things were being shifted' (MS Q426).
Please cite as “FVM-57-04-08,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 19 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/57-04-08