26/5/87.
The author, dear Mr Macdonald, of the Gippsland paper is Mr Edwin Merrall.1 I hope we will not be forestalled in it. Vegetable seeds, and grains of Select Maize and Caffir-Corn are ready for Mr Cuthbertson's Expedition.2 What a grand success with small means Mr Bevan had!3 It must be a great chagrin to our Sydney friends, to reflect now on the former exploit.4
I will look up the rough draft of Mr Sayers account of the ascent of Mt Bellenden Ker. A clear copy was given to the reporters at the last general meeting.5 When the article in the German Adelaide Paper appears, we can get it translated for one of the weekly papers here.6 Will write to Mr Shillinglaw7 & Sir Edw. Strickland;8 to the latter concerning the new Expedition, as you have done already. Three excellent young persons of families in good positions just applied respectively for places in Mr Cuthbertsons Exped. I have sent them all to Mr Giles, and urged one of the parents, to draw up a subscription-paper for Giles, and go with him to Sir W. Clarke, (who knows the gentleman,) to head it. If Mr Turner would help us among the money-men a little, we would get a few hundred £ together9 quite enough to start Giles, as the S.A. & W.A. Gov. are sure, to give something for the maps of their respective region, when Giles comes back. All three young persons are excellent bushmen, Mr [Miller], Mr Sayce and Mr Pethouse; they would go without salary.
We must ventilate the question at our next ordinary meeting.
Regardfully
your
Ferd. von Mueller.
Subscriptions of less than £10‑ must not be accepted for Mr Giles, as we would otherwise not have localities enough for naming.
Last evening arrived a long and kind letter from Sir Henry Barkly,10 from which I caused at once that portion, concerning Mr Chalmers, to be copied out for you. How good it is, that we made some provision for the Rev Mr Chalmers, he will see, when he comes here, that we kept faith with him, so far as circumstances permitted.11 It seems unnecessary, that we give immediate publication to this extract, as we can read it at our next ordinary meeting. We can talk matters over with Mr Chalmers, when he comes, and must try to get a vote next year again Of course Mr Chalmers communication does not affect Mr Cutberthsons12 present movements
Merrall (1888). Merrall's paper was read by the Secretary, Macdonald, at the meeting of the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia held on 9 August 1887 (Argus, 11 August 1887, p. 5). Brief details were included in the Scottish geographical magazine (B87.11.08).
Interlined below Merrall's name is an annotation in another hand, 'Bendoc', the name of a river in East Gippsland that featured in Merrall's paper.
1887 expedition to the Owen Stanley Range, Papua New Guinea, organized by the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia; see M to W. Cuthbertson, 28 May 1887.
Theodore Bevan on the steamer Victory provided by Robert Philp of Burn, Philp & Co. had explored a number of New Guinea rivers opening to the Gulf of Papua in a six-week expedition in early 1887 (ADB).
The 1885 expedition to New Guinea organized by the New South Wales Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia?
Sayer was advertised to speak on his recent feat, 'Ascent of Mount Bellenden ker, Queensland', at the meeting of the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia held on 17 February 1887 (Age, 17 February 1887, p. 5), but his talk was then announced as postponed until the next meeting (Argus, 18 February 1887, p. 3). His report was subsequently published in the Victorian naturalist; see Sayer (1887) and M to A. Macdonald, 26 May 1887.
Probably M's letter to Friedrich Basedow expressing his views on the need for 'further research explorations' in Australia, published in Australische Zeitung, 25 May 1887, p. 4 (In this edition as 87-05-11c).
See M to J. Shillinglaw, 31 May 1887, which makes clear that the 'new expedition' discussed in the remainder of this letter is concerned with a proposed new exploring expedition by Ernest Giles to Central Australia.
Letter not found.
What follows has become separated in the file at the Mitchell Library from the early part of the letter.
Letter not found.
After exploring in New Guinea in 1886 with H. O. Forbes, James Chalmers had called at Melbourne en route to England. While there, he had committed himself to returning to New Guinea to undertake further exploration, and M and his colleagues had committed themselves to raising funds to support this work.
i.e. Cuthbertson's. The final sentence of the postscript is a marginal addition by M.
Please cite as “FVM-87-05-26,” 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