To Clement Hodgkinson1    6 September 1859

Melbourne botanic & zoologic

Gardens 6 September 1859

Sir

By desire of the Committee of the zoologic Garden2 I have the honor to inform you, that they concede to the request of the Honorable the President of Land and Works, to grant the temporary use of the Zoological reserve to the Caledonian Society for their national festival in the beginning of October next.

I have further been instructed to request the favor of an early statement, for which lenght of time the ground will be required, in order that timely arrangements may be made for the removal of part of the animals on the occasion.

The Committee wishes, in the interest of the establishment entrusted to their care, to bring under his Honors consideration, that, altho' they felt much pleased to comply with the wishes of the honorable the President of lands and works, still with the increasing number of animals of the zoological-Collection, it may become a matter of difficulty to renew the temporary erection of shades or tents for similar purposes in future, even if this not proved always so detrimental to the turf and thereby to the appearance of the reserve throughout the season.

I have the honor to be

Sir

your most obedient & humble servant

Ferd Mueller.

 

Cl. Hodgkinson Esq

&c &c &c3

1

MS written by Carl Wilhelmi and signed by M.

J. Campbell wrote to the Department of Lands and Survey on 20 July 1859 asking for permission to use the Port Phillip Farmers Society's show yards for the Scottish National Games in October. On 1 August he withdrew the request because the Caledonian Society had subsequently secured the grounds of the Zoological Garden for the same purpose (B59/3728, unit 649, VPRS 44, PROV). See also M to G. Evans, 20 July 1859 (in this edition as 59.07.20b).

2
On 6 September 1859 M and D. S. Campbell constituted a special meeting in M's office of the Committee of Management of the Zoological Gardens at which the application for the temporary use of the zoological reserve for the Highland Society was reluctantly acceded to. M was instructed 'to write to Mr Hodgkinson that the concession given on this occasion should not be construed into a precedent, since not only the pasture was suffering too much by the erection of tents and thereby the appearance of the Ground also spoiled for the season but also since probably soon hereafter the zoological collection would have increased to such an extent as to render the accumulation of great multitudes […]. for the animals.' (Unit 2, VPRS 2223, PROV).
3

On 9 September 1859 Hodgkinson directed his department to 'Inform Mr Campbell, the Secretary to the Caledonian Society that the Committee of the Zoological Garden concede the request of that Society for the temporary use of the Zoological Reserve in October next, but wish to be informed how long the Society will require the ground'. Campbell was duly informed on 12 September.

On 17 September Campbell wrote again to Hodgkinson, saying that the Society's Games had been fixed for Friday and Saturday, 7 and 8 October, and that the Society would require two weeks' access beforehand and one week afterwards in order to erect a grandstand and later to take it down. On 20 September, Hodgkinson instructed that this information be forwarded to M. For M's acknowledgment, see M to C. Hodgkinson, 22 September 1859.

Please cite as “FVM-59-09-06a,” 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 23 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/59-09-06a