Of German origin, Ferdinand von Mueller migrated to Australia in 1847. Government Botanist of Victoria for 43 years until his death in 1896, he was Australia's greatest scientist of the 19th century - a major contributor to international science, an intrepid explorer of parts of Australia previously unknown to Europeans, and a dominant figure in the scientific and intellectual life of his adopted country. Throughout his working life, Mueller kept up an enormous correspondence. Large numbers of letters by or to him have been located throughout the world, and edited for publication. These constitute a major new research tool for both Australian historians and historians of science. They are also of fundamental importance to Australian taxonomic botany, for Mueller introduced vast numbers of Australian plants to western science. This is the third and final volume of Mueller's selected correspondence. It covers the last two decades of his life - his most productive period from a scientific point of view - including his work as Government Botanist of Victoria; his multifarious contributions to taxonomy, biogeography and economic botany; his engagement with the exploration of inland Australia, New Guinea and Antarctica; his manifold links with international science; and his evolving personal circumstances as one of the leading citizens of his adopted country. This volume contains a substantial historical introduction, and a further extension of the editorial apparatus developed in previous volumes.

Species acclimatization--the organized introduction of organisms to a new region--is much maligned in the present day. However, colonization depended on moving people, plants, and animals from place to place, and in centuries past, scientists, landowners, and philanthropists formed acclimatization societies to study local species and conditions, form networks of supporters, and exchange supposedly useful local and exotic organisms across the globe. Pete Minard tells the story of this movement, arguing that the colonies, not the imperial centers, led the movement for species acclimatization. Far from attempting to re-create London or Paris, settlers sought to combine plants and animals to correct earlier environmental damage and to populate forests, farms, and streams to make them healthier and more productive. By focusing particularly on the Australian colony of Victoria, Minard reveals a global network of would-be acclimatizers, from Britain and France to Russia and the United States. Although the movement was short-lived, the long reach of nineteenth-century acclimatization societies continues to be felt today, from choked waterways to the uncontrollable expansion of European pests in former colonies.

Shaping Science and Industry touches on Australia's intellectual, political and economic life. It provides an account of the rapid growth of CSIR (to become CSIRO) during World War II. The contributions of many outstanding personalities are described such as Sir George Julius, Sir Charles Martin, Hedley Marston, DF Martyn, AEV Richardson, Sir David Rivett, Ian Clunies Ross and FWG White.This book recounts the major effort to introduce and adapt new technologies as part of the war effort. Informative and non-technical accounts are given of some breakthroughs in agricultural research such as the eradication of prickly pear.

In this 1989 volume the Australian Academy of Science celebrates and assesses two centuries of Australian science.

Revealing the diversity of Aboriginal life in the Sydney region, this study examines a variety of source documents that discuss not only Aboriginal life before colonization in 1788 but also the early years of first contact. This is the only work to explore the minutiae of Sydney Aboriginal daily life, detailing the food they ate; the tools, weapons, and equipment they used; and the beliefs, ceremonial life, and rituals they practiced. This updated edition has been revised to include recent discoveries and the analyses of the past seven years, adding yet more value to this 2004 winner of the John Mulvaney award for best archaeology book from the Australian Archaeological Association. The inclusion of a special supplement that details the important sites in the Sydney region and how to access them makes the book especially appealing to those interested in visiting the sites.