Melbourne
23/7/78.
W. H. Odgers Esq
Undersecretary
Sir,
I have the honor to ask, that you will bring at an early opportunity before the hon. Graham Berry my solicitation, that the builidings intended for my Department, and for which now £1800 are provided on the estimates (£900 having lapsed of a Building vote for my Department)1 may be erected in Albert Park near the Railway Station, and that the hon. the Chief Secretary may be pleased to sanction as soon as possible the erection, with a view of providing the needful accommodation for the literary, office- and laboratory-work of my Department, and with an intention of moving my Museum-collections and fittings also to Albert Park for the consolidation of a proper scientific Department. If the Government does not desire me to superintend the cultivation of any plants, I relinquish this hope of also so far resuscitating my Department. But I feel sure the Chief Secretary does not wish to withdraw from my Departmental control my Museum collections and Library, without which I cannot continue my researches and which I commenced in my child hood, fourty years ago, and in which I sunk a private fortune of several thousand £. If the hon. Graham Berry will kindly accede to my request, to reestablish my Department on Albert Park, it will remove the painful humiliation of my feelings of being placed on ground, on which I was 17 years Director and over which I have had since 5 years no more control.
I have the honor to be,
Sir, your obedient servant
Ferd von Mueller
Gov. Botanist.
I had in the botanic Garden eleven rooms for my office work and laboratory work, all withdrawn from me since 1873.2
M had not used a previous capital works allocation of £900 made in 1876; see M to J. MacPherson, 13 April 1876, and M to G. Berry, 2 July 1878.
In M to W. Odgers, 15 October 1878, M reminded Odgers about this matter. The reminder presumably resulted in the MS annotation to the original letter by G. Berry, Chief Secretary, on 16 October: 'This matter must remain over for next years estimates when I trust satisfactory arrangements will be made'. The message was conveyed to M who replied on 17 October: 'Returned with best thanks for kind promise of the Hon. the Chief Secretary to provide the needful means on next years estimates'.
Please cite as “FVM-78-07-23b,” 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