Council Chambers
East Collingwood
20th June 1867
Sir,
Referring to my letter to you of the 20th April asking for some plants for the Borough Reserves I have the honor to state that the ground intended to be planted this season is now prepared but to a much smaller extent than was contemplated when I wrote to you.1 The ground ready will not exceed half an acre, and I respectfully suggest the following as suitable. Norfolk and one or two other Pines (Cyrus)2 Blue Gum, oak, Lauristina Portugueseae3 Arbutus Pitospherum4 Bignonia accacia5 hawthorn Bodlia6 sweetbriar and two other creepers with any other ornamental trees or shrubs you can spare.
If convenient to you I would send for the plants on Saturday morning.
I have the honor to be
Sir,
Your most obedient servant
George Bennett7
Town Clerk
To,
Dr Mueller
Botanical Gardens
Melbourne.
Accacia
Arbutus
Bignonia
Bodlia
Pitospherum
Bennett's letter is evidently in response to M's reply (not found) to G. Bennett to M, 20 April 1867: the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 8 May 1867, p. 322, record a letter from M 'stating that the Trees & Shrubs asked could be got and recommending that the land be prepared' (Council minutes, VPRS 11090, unit 3, p. 322, VA 439 East Collingwood Borough Council records, Public Record Office, Victoria).
Cypress?
'Lauristina Portugueseae' is probably a variant common name of Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica), or another unrelated species of Portuguese origin with the common name Lauristinia or Lauristinus (Viburnum tinus).
Pittosporum?
Acacia.
Buddleia?
George Bennett (c. 1804-1879).
Please cite as “FVM-67-06-20,” 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