From John Thurston to Ferdinand von Mueller   19 June 1880

Fiji

19. June 1880

My dear Sir,

I am in receipt of your kind note of the 12th April and the 7th of May¹ which were put into my hands a few days ago on my return to office. It was with very great regret that I failed to see you during my brief stay in Melbourne but indeed I was so overwhelmed with business that I failed to do many things and see many scientific men whom I much desired to meet. For many years I looked forward to meeting you some day and after all I was not so fortunate. A gentleman whom I met at the Club informed me you were to be found at, I think he said a Botanic Museum not far from Government house and one day I drove out there and walked round what seemed a building devoted to some scientific purpose but it was closed — and no one I met could give me information.

It is just possible I may visit Melbourne at the end of the year and in such case I shall not fail to make my first visit to you —

The Musa of which on the authority of a settler in Kandavu² — I think I wrote to you of a very long one — must I find be a Heleconia but whether described or not remains to be seen —

The native banana — The "Soaqa" or "Soauka", are I think now flowering and one of my boys shall go into the mountains tomorrow in search. If the 'Suva' were here now I could send you a fine bunch of the fruit. One has flowered in my garden during absence in Australia — I return just to find the fruit ripe —

You have obliged me very much with the 'Cinchona' seed — I am trying all I can do to introduce this tree for culture in our mountain districts but so far I have not been lucky — With Cacao I have been most fortunate having established over 3000 trees in two years

By this mail I hear with regret of the death of my good friend and correspondent Dr Schaffer³ of Buitenzorg Java. He rendered me great service with seeds and plants of economic value.

With renewed thanks

Believe me my dear Sir

Very faithfully yours

John B Thurston.

Cacao

Cinchona

Musa