Georg Neumayer. The committee of 12 'with power to add to their number' was appointed at a 'numerously attended meeting of German residents in Melbourne' on 19 August 1857 ('German meeting at the Criterion, Professor Neumayer', Age (Melbourne), 21 August 1857, p. 4). The committee met the following day when M was elected Chairman and he was requested to communicate with the Chamber of Commerce ('Professor Neumayer's proposed magnetic survey', Argus, 22 August 1857, p. 4). The Chamber of Commerce evidently also appointed a committee, whose petition to the Governor of 31 August did not concern the erection of an observatory but sought to facilitate Neumayer's inspection of ship's logs ('Chamber of Commerce', Age 3 September 1857, p. 6). For Neumayer's brief account of the Committee, see Neumayer's report to Justus Liebig, transcribed and translated as Appendix II to Home & Kretzer (1991).
No earlier suggestion has been found that Neumayer's observatory might be located near the Botanic Garden, where it was later placed as part of the Melbourne Observatory when this was created in 1863. Prior to that, from March 1858 Neumayer operated his observatory elsewhere, as the Flagstaff Observatory on Melbourne's Flagstaff Hill.
Letter not found; item is a register entry only. The item was registered on 9 September 1857.
Please cite as “FVM-57-09-00,” 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