To Oliver Jones   1 January 1880

Newyears day

1880.

 

Let me offer to you, dear Corporal Jones, my best felicitation on the new year, may this new one be to you & your family one replete with happiness. I have not heard of you for a long while; perhaps you have been far away. Is there anything I can send you; and how have the various seeds grown, which I from time to time forwarded? When lately I looked over my W.A. accounts, I found that a few £ more were in [the]1 bank than my notes showed. Did you perhaps never cash my little cheque, or is otherwise this still due to you if so I will forward a post office order for it.

Regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller.

 

I often think with pleasurable recollection of our joint travels,2 and should like it very much to be once more out with you. Who now occupies Dirk Hartog's Island?3

editorial addition. — Paper damaged.
Jones was evidently the 'mounted trooper' who, with a 'native constable', was 'placed at his [M's] disposal by the local Government' during his investigation of the Upper Murchison and Sharks Bay area to 'determine the northern limits of the flora of this colony' (Westen Australian times [Perth], 30 October 1877, p. 2).
An island near Shark Bay, WA. In October 1877, M travelled by the steamer Rob Roy from Albany to Fremantle, then after a brief stay in Perth with John Forrest, continued on it to Champion Bay, from whence he collected northwards to Shark Bay (Inquirer and commercial news [Perth], 17 October 1877, p. 2, and 24 October, p. 2). According to his later statement, however, in the introduction to B83.08.01, 'although rather extensive collections were formed’ he was in the Shark Bay area for only two days. M returned to Fremantle on the same steamer from Champion Bay, arriving on 17 November (Herald [Fremantle], 24 November 1877, p. 2). He was John Forrest's guest in Perth, and with him made a 'flying visit' to Northam where he collected seeds of trees (Western Australian [Perth], 7 December 1877, p. 3). On his return journey overland to Albany he spent some time in Bunbury to inspect 2,000 acres of land that he had selected, and decided to reject it as a poor investment when offered a rent of only £2 per annum. He arrived in Albany on 20 December (Herald [Fremantle], 29 December 1877, p. 3), and left on Assam on 29 December, arriving in Melbourne on 4 January 1878 (Argus, 2 January 1878, p. 5, and 5 January, p. 7). See also M to unknown, January 1878 (in this edition as 78-01-00b).

Please cite as “FVM-80-01-01,” 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 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/80-01-01