Office of Lands & Survey
Melbourne, 12th. Augt. 1861.
Sir,
By direction of the Honorable The President of the Board of Land and Works, I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of the Committee of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, that the Society will be allowed the exclusive use of the Royal Park for depasturing purposes; and the question of leasing at a nominal rent a portion of the Park to the Society for the purpose of constructing thereon the various buildings, reservoirs, &c, projected by the Society will be submitted for the consideration of the Board of Land and Works as soon as a definite plan of the portion of ground required (shewing its area and linear dimensions) is received at this Office.1
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedt. Servant
Assist. Commr. & Secretary for Lands & Survey2
Dr. Mueller,
&c. &c. &c.
Melbourne.
The Society had already held a competition for plans for laying out the intended enclosure of about 160 acres, awarding the prize of £50 to Mr Alfred Lynch, landscape gardener. An account of the intended buildings is given in the report announcing the award of the prize (Geelong advertiser, 25 June 1861, p. 3). The architects Purchas and Swyer calledfor tenders 'for about 1300 yards of FENCING required in Royal Park for the Acclimatization Society' (Herald (Melbourne), 8 October 1861, p. 1). Purchas also called for tenders for additional ground works (Argus, 1 February 1862, p. 3). The Government estimates for 1862, tabled 17 January 1862, included £1000 for 'buildings, fences, and other works for Acclimatisation Society in the Royal Park' (Argus, 20 January 1862, p. 5).
File copy not signed.
Please cite as “FVM-61-08-12,” 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