22/7/81.
You will have received a communication from the Agent General of Victoria, dear Sir Joseph, after a telegram from here, soliciting you to become the representative of Victoria and indeed also of N.S. Wales and South Australia at the Congress of Bordeaux early in September, when the Phylloxera-questions are further to be discussed.
A telegram from the Right. Hon the Secretary of State for the Colonies, invited us to send a delegate. New South Wales proposed, that you should name a Representative at home; but I went a step farther and recommended that yourself should be asked to be the delegate of these Colonies. As the Congress takes place at the period when usually you make a tour to the Continent, as moreover it takes you so little time to go to Bordeaux from Kew, but above all as you as our "Premier" in an Official position are interested in this Phylloxera-question for the sake of all the British Colonies, it was but fair to offer the mission to you in first instance, and in the event of your being pressingly prevented, to ask you to nominate the Delegate perhaps Mr Dyer1 if he can be spared for the purpose. Of course all expenses incurred by you, will be paid by the three colonies jointly.
Some Reports & correspondence will be transmitted by the Cuzco-mail2 to you through the Agent General, among these a letter of mine,3 which explains, why — beyond a private visit to the Geelong district to see the ravages of the Phylloxera vastatrix personally [—]4 I became in no way identified with this, now to Australian Viticulture most serious question. This exclusion of mine from all cultural-concerns is one of the many ill consequences of my loosing the bot. Garden, and has made me powerless to do anything in matters of this sort or in any other cultural pursuits.
Your despatch of 18765 came too late to prevent the ingress of the Phylloxera, which found its way into Victoria (Geelong) insiduously soon after I left the bot. Garden in 1873. On this occasion I would now only add, that altho' it was taked6 about by some, that I should go to the Congress and by others that the Secretary of our Agricultural Department should go, I stated that after I had not even my own large collection of Vines seen for the last eight years, and had been excluded from all cultural operations, I had no courage now to share in a task, of this kind, unless the Government here insisted on my going; you can also understand, that it would "break my heart" to meet the Directors of Kew, of Montpellier and all the other Garden-Directors, a colleague of whom I was til 1873, unless I was myself Director again at least of some one garden here; hence it is not likely that my intention of 1869 when my Garden was first invaded, to visit Europe, the homestead of my boyhood, my paternal house (and then also the great horticultural institutions of Europe) once more, will ever be realized!, not to speak of destroyed hopes of life and overthrow of my career in most respects from all of which I might have been saved by one single powerful appeal from England!
Regardfully
your
Ferd von Mueller
Please cite as “FVM-81-07-22,” 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 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/81-07-22