From Ferdinand von Mueller to William Odgers   12 Jan 1871

Melbourne botanic Garden

12. Jan 71

Sir

In compliance with the request, conveyed by your minute of yesterday,¹ I have the honor of sending herewith 1, a garden plan,² on which with pencil is marked the area, which prior to the commencement of my Directorship in June 1857 was more or less laid out and to some extent planted. No regular books were kept prior to my administration in the botanic Garden, the accounts of disbursements being kept by the office of public works. I can therefore not say, what precise ground was under cultivation in 1853. As regards the successive annual additions to the plantations since 1857, I have the honor to remark, that according to the quantity and kinds of plants yearly available and according to the resources and obligations of any kind at any time the planting operations were extended; but of course this could only be fragmentary and partially at any time; hence continued improvements took place on even the oldest ground; hence also the impossibility to mark off on the plan what new area came annually under cultivation. In my successive reports to Parliament I have however indicated the additional work, periodically performed.

2, For reasons already indicated I can only give the annual expenditures of my Department since I became Director. Two schedules are thus now annexed, one showing the expenditure under the Minister of the Department, the other showing the expenditure under the Minister of public works. The outlay for zoologic purposes is excluded. As asked, I have also furnished herewith a list of the present employees of my establishment, and indicated briefly the duties allotted to each person respectively.

3, The series of my reports to Parliament can only be obtained from the reserve copies kept in the Parliamentary Library Store.

4. In reference to the area and expenditure of the bot Gardens of Sydney and Adelaide I may be allowed to observe, that the Sydney Garden and Park under the Directors control have two separate votes, and that neither the Sydney nor the Adelaide establishment maintain a phytographic Museum, a literary branch, a phytochemic laboratory and a large supply nursery for the public institutions of towns and country. Finally I beg to state that previous to my Directorship no ironfences, ironbowers, waterpipes, permanent drain pipes, tree lines, cisterns, tanks, steam engine, existed, that 14 buildings arose since, and that important additions were made to some of the buildings existing before.

I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant

Ferd. von Mueller, M.D.

Direct. botan. Garden

The Under Secretary.

Staff of the Melbourne Botanic Garden³

Votes for the Melbourne Botanical Garden and the scientific institutions connected therewith, from 1857 to 1870 (exclusive of special votes for Public Works and exclusive of votes for zoological purposes)

The exact expenditure of the Zoological Department until its separation and transfer to the Royal Park cannot be ascertained with precision, as both votes were united, but the amounts set down now for the Botanic Garden may be regarded as fair and equitable.

Public Works Department

Statement of expenditure for the Botanic Garden