From Charles Winnecke   2 January 1884

Eagle Chambers

Pirie Street Adelaide

2nd January 18831

The Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. K.C.M.G &c

Melbourne

 

Dear Sir

I must apologize for not writing to you sooner the fact is I have not been very well since my return. I wrote to you once from the Mueller (Diamantina) River2 in Queensland, but I presume you did not receive my letter as many others which I wrote at the same time have not as yet turned up; I have had a rather hard trip; scarcity of water compelled me to push my work on as fast as possible, and during the six months I have been absent I have not had a single days rest; I have made a small collection of plants not a hundredth part of what I should like to have collected, but I hope you will find them worth recording. I delayed sending them to you before, as I wished to enclose a sketch plan, so that you could ascertain, the indegenous locality of the different plants. I have however been delayed in making this plan, by circumstances over which I had no control; Mrs Tietkens, who is just about to visit Melbourne has kindly consented to take the plants and deliver them to you, I hope you will receive them in good order, I have placed a small slip of paper with a number on each lot, and I shall forward you a copy of my Journal and plan as soon as the latter are Lithographed with corresponding number so that you will be able to localize all the different plants; the season was very dry and few plants in a sufficiently forward state for classification could be obtained, the country I travelled over consisted of very high sandhills from 300 to 400 feet high, soon after starting I had a stage of 248 miles across these sandridges and immediately afterwards another of 150 miles without water; my camels although they were anything but first class animals, had just returned to Beltana3 from a severe trip, when I took charge of them, yet they behaved nobly carrying immense loads across these dreadful sandridges with the utmost patience and endurance[.] I found most of the country traversed between Lat 22o.30' to 28o.00' and Longitude 136o.30' to 139o.30' to be so dry that I did not attempt to take any horses into it: I met several lots of Natives who although very much frightened behaved in a friendly manner, I was not fortunate enough to find any traces of Dr Leichardts Party, but I still believe that this is the country or that a little to the west of it in which such traces will be found, the civilized natives do speake of a white a man having died in the country near the Field River, but at the same time contradict each other so often that only a very little credence can be placed in their stories, the Field river is about 50 miles west of the Mulligan River4 and the Hay about 50 miles west of the Field5 both new features not previously mapped. I spoke German to all the natives whom I met hoping that I might thus gain some clue, but all in vain; I have however some hopes of taking another trip into this country in a short time should I be able to persuade the run-holders to have their country examined. I may therefore still obtain some useful information. I shall forward you a copy of all my work both Journal and Plan as soon as it is completed and shall be extremely obliged to you if you would forward them either to the Royal Geographical or any other Society you may choose. Wishing you a happy New Year

I shall remain

Yours sincerely

Chas Winnecke

 

P.S. Few of the plants in my collection are a species of the sensative plant and one (on insects) appears to be carnivorous: should you prefer it I shall be delighted if you answer my letter in German in which I have had very little practice of late years6

1
Winnecke clearly intended 1884, since he returned from the expedition that he discusses in the letter in December 1883.
2
In 1862, while leading one of the Burke and Wills relief expeditions, John McKinlay for a time followed a 'magnificent stream' in western Qld that he named Mueller's Creek. This later proved to be a stretch of the same river named Diamantina by William Landsborough, leader of another of the Burke & Wills relief expeditions, in honour of Lady Diamantina Bowen, wife of Sir George Bowen. Governor of Queensland; and Landsborough's name prevailed despite the priority of McKinlay's naming. See M to A. Petermann, 24 October 1876.
3
SA.
4
Qld.
5
Field and Hay Rivers both NT, draining into the Simpson Desert.
6

Marginal note added by M: 'Dass von diesem muthigen Deutschen keine Spur Leichhardts entdeckt wurde ist selbst als negatives Resultat nicht unwichtig, da sich das Areal innerhalb welchem er verunglückte nun für Forschung immer mehr einengt! Was Hume u Skuthorp als gesehen vorgaben, sind wahrscheinlich gehörte Traditionen der Eingebornen, welche solche später auszubeuten wünschen durch wirklich Autopsie. F.v.M.' [That no trace of Leichhardt was discovered by this courageous German is itself as a negative result not unimportant, because the area within which he perished is now more and more narrowed down for exploration. What Hume and Skuthorpe allege as seen, are probably hearsay traditions of the Aborigines, who later wished to exploit such by real autopsy]. M's note was published with the letter, but with some variations in the wording.

Winnecke's report and M's comments were summarized in London standard, 19 April 1884, p. 5, and this report was reprinted in Sydney morning herald, 6 June 1884, pp. 7-8.

Please cite as “FVM-84-01-02,” 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 24 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/84-01-02