To Octavius Timins   9 September 1859

Melbourne botanic & zoolog. Garden,

9. Sept. 1859.

Sir

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a communication, adressed to you by the Private Secretary of His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia in reference to the Alpaca-Llamas introduced into Victoria,1 and beg in reply to state, that I shall not fail to give to you, according to His Excellency's our Governors request an outline of whatever is bearing on the introduction &c of these animals, previous to the departure of the English Mail.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient & humble servant

Ferd. Mueller

 

Capt. Timins.2

1
On 15 August 1859 H. Wakefield, Private Secretary to the Governor of WA, wrote to Timins saying that the WA Governor, A. Kennedy, had been petitioned by 'several gentlemen of influence' in Western Australia to obtain information about the introduction of alpacas into Victoria. Specifically Wakefield wished to know: '1st Whether it would be possible for the gentlemen on whose behalf I write to procure a few young alpacas. 2nd who would be the proper person to whom to apply for the purchase of them, and, 3rd the probably price at which they may be obtained.' The Governor of Victoria, H. Barkly, asked that Wakefield's letter be referred to M 'as a Director of the Zoological Society with the request that he will supply such information suggestions as may be interesting and useful to the Government of Western Australia'.
2
On 15 September Barkly instructed: 'Send Dr Mueller's letter by the mail & add that I will forward the queries which the Gentlemen in Western Australia desired to have answered to H. E. the Governor Genl at Sydney with a request that he will have them answered by whoever has charge of the Alpacas there'.

Please cite as “FVM-59-09-09,” 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 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/59-09-09