Anthelme Thozet (25 May 1826 – 31 May 1878) was a French-Australian

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

Early life

He was born 25 May 1826 in Chegnieu-la-Balme (Register of Contrevoz), and fled

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

for London (giving his profession as engineer) in September 1854 as a political refugee following the

1848 French revolution The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...

. He migrated to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia in late 1854/early 1855 as part of a French gold digging expedition to

Bathurst Bathurst may refer to: People * Bathurst (surname) * Bathurst Bellers Mann (1858–1948), Irish-born rugby union player in Wales * Bathurst Peachy (1893–1953), American college head baseball coach Places and jurisdictions Australia * Bat ...

. He then moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in early 1856 where he worked as a clerk at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government are ...

before being drawn to

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

by the

Canoona gold rush During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of Ne ...

. While living in Sydney he met Maria Isabella Berthold, a German immigrant, and they had a son, Auguste who was born on 7 July 1857.

Life in Rockhampton

Thozet established the second hotel in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

, the Alliance, but driven by a never failing professional interest in botany he commenced researching native Australian plants used by

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

people of

Northern Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has bee ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

including the

Darumbal The Darumbal people, also spelt Darambal and Dharumbal, are the Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally occupied Central Queensland, speaking dialects of the Darumbal language. and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Countr ...

clans around Rockhampton. Thozet is credited with pioneering research into

bush tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora, fauna, or fungi used for culinary or medicinal ...

. In 1866 he published ''Notes on Some of the Roots, Tubers, Bulbs and Fruits Used as Vegetable Food by the Aboriginals of Northern Queensland, Australia'', W H Buzacott, Rockhampton.
This pamphlet includes a description of midamo, a mixture of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

roots and berries made by baking the root of the common

(''Avicennia Tomentosa'') called ''Egaie'' by the tribes of Cleveland Bay, and ''Tagon–Tagon'' by those of Rockhampton. Thozet established his own plant nursery in

North Rockhampton North Rockhampton is the common name for the suburbs of Rockhampton located on the north-east side of the Fitzroy River (Queensland), Fitzroy River in Queensland, Australia. It may also refer more specifically to the location of the North Rockha ...

on which are today bounded by Thozet Creek, Thozet Road, Rockonia Road and the Fitzroy River in Koongal. Thozet was instrumental in developing the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens founded in 1861, the

South Rockhampton Cemetery South Rockhampton Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at Upper Dawson Road, Allenstown, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1860 to 1970. It is also known as Dawson Road Cemetery and Rockhampton Cemetery. It was add ...

, and the tree plantings along the Fitzroy River in the

Rockhampton CBD Rockhampton City is the central suburb of the city of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region of Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Rockhampton CBD. In the , Rockhampton City had a population of 2,059 people. Geography Rockhampton ...

area. He supplied plant and seed specimens to other botanists and Botanical Gardens, including

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

, Victorian government botanist and director of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) are botanical garden, botanic gardens across two sites–Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne and Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land w ...

. Thozet named his sprawling 66-acre Rockhampton property "Muellerville" in honour of von Mueller. In 1875, he was made a fellow of the

Royal Colonial Institute The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting confl ...

. The website

Bionomia Bionomia (formerly Bloodhound Tracker) is a database and database entry tool which permits the name strings of collectors, and of taxonomists who determine specimen data, to be assigned to the unique person who collected or identified the specim ...

shows that the specimens he collected continue to contribute to scientific knowledge with (as of June 2020) six publications having used his specimens. In 2011, there was some suggestion that Thozet may have planted Australia's first

mango trees ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is an evergreen species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height and width of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern ma ...

on "Muellerville", sourcing them from explorer

Charles Nicholson Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet (born Isaac Ascough; 23 November 1808 – 8 November 1903) was an English-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist. The Nicholson Museum at the University ...

who may have picked them up as seedlings in India. However, this claim has been disputed. Thozet was active in promoting the interests of Rockhampton overseas, and in the Separation League, attempting to have the northern portion of Queensland recognised as a separate State. The family travelled overseas between 1869 1872 which included an extended stay in France where Thozet gave lectures and raised more money to continue his research. They also visited England where Anthelme and Maria were married in a

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

registry office on 22 November 1872. By March 1873, they had arrived back in Rockhampton.

Awards

Thozet was awarded numerous medals throughout his career. At the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, officially the London International Exhibition of Industry and Art, also known as the Great London Exposition, was a world's fair held from 1 May to 1 November 1862 in South Kensington, London, England. Th ...

in London, Thozet received silver medals for his exhibits on tobacco grown and cigars manufactured in Rockhampton. He was awarded silver medals at the 1862 Lyon International Exhibition, the 1865 Royal Prussian Exhibition in Berlin, and the 1875 Society d'Acclimatisation in Paris. Thozet also won two bronze medals at the 1866–67 Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia. In January 1921, Thozet's widow Maria presented a collection of 15 medals to the

Rockhampton School of Arts Rockhampton School of Arts is a heritage-listed former school of arts at 230 Bolsover Street, Rockhampton City, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by William (Walter) Cherry built in 1894 by Walter Adam ...

. In 2012, a private collector presented the collection of medals to

Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (branded as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus is at Norman ...

to be displayed in the library at the university's Rockhampton campus. A special morning tea was held to celebrate the university taking custodianship of the medals.

Death

Anthelme Thozet died in 1878 from

bilious fever Bilious fever was a medical diagnosis of fever associated with excessive bile or bilirubin in the blood stream and tissues, causing jaundice (a yellow color in the skin or sclera of the eye). The most common cause was malaria. Viral hepatitis and ...

contracted on an expedition to Blackwater and was buried in the garden of his property Muellerville. Thozet's son Auguste and daughter-in-law Lucy Anne (née Nobbs) were buried beside him in 1902 and this small family cemetery is located on Codd Street, North Rockhampton. Lucy Thozet had died from natural causes on 24 February 1902, with her husband dying from suicide on 11 March 1902. In December 1922, Anthelme Thozet's widow Maria sustained injuries in a fall at her home where she lay for 13 hours before being found the next morning by her neighbours and then taken to hospital. She never recovered and died on 4 August 1923. Maria Thozet was buried in the North Rockhampton Cemetery despite wanting to be buried the family cemetery on "Muellerville" alongside her husband, son and daughter-in-law. After Maria Thozet's death, Muellerville was gradually sold off as residential allotments, the first 30 of which went to auction on 31 July 1926. Apart from some parkland, the original Muellerville property is now a completely residential area. In 2010,

Rockhampton Regional Council The Rockhampton Region is a local government area (LGA) in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Queenslan ...

and the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

conducted archeological investigations, locating three graves at the north end of Norris Park, which lies on land that was part of the original Muellerville property. In 2012, there was a push to have Norris Park renamed to Muellerville Park. Situated on Thozet's original Muellerville property, Norris Park was named as such as a tribute to William Norris, a long serving employee of

Rockhampton City Council The City of Rockhampton was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area o ...

. However, a petition was submitted to the council's parks and recreation committee to have it changed to Muellerville Park in recognition of Thozet's contribution to botany. Although council decided to keep the name Norris Park, they revealed a commemorative stone would be installed in the park to give recognition of Thozet's pioneering work. As a result, the council subsequently installed a new headstone for the graves, and a memorial marker informing visitors that "this parkland is the last remaining portion of the 66 acre experimental garden known as 'Muellerville', once owned by Frenchborn botanist and botanical pioneer Anthelme Thozet".

Legacy

No photographs of Thozet are known to exist. There was a

pen-and-ink drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

of Thozet which was previously displayed in the Rockhampton School of Arts but as of 2010 its whereabouts were unknown. However, numerous landmarks in Rockhampton bear Thozet's name or refer to his French heritage such as Thozet Road, Thozet Creek, Little Thozet Creek, Frenchmans Creek and the suburb of Frenchville. The Rockhampton Historical Society installed a historical marker is located on Quay Street crediting Thozet with planting native plum trees along the banks of the Fitzroy River in 1867 which are still standing. In 1891, botanist

Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866, he ...

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

fungal A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the tradit ...

genus in the family

Chaetosphaeriaceae The Chaetosphaeriaceae are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes. The family was circumscribed by Martina Réblová, Margaret Elizabeth Barr Bigelow, and Gary Samuels in 1999. Species in the family have a cosmopolitan distrib ...

and named in Thozet's honour. The tree species, ''

Eucalyptus thozetiana ''Eucalyptus thozetiana'' is a species of tree that is native to inland north-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, or sometimes with rough bark near the base, linear to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and elev ...

'' was also named in his honour in 1906. Muellerville Walk was developed in 2014 to guide visitors around the western boundary of what was once Thozet's vast property, with the starting point being at Thozet's grave in Norris Park. Muellerville Walk was upgraded in 2017 with interpretive signage and a fully connected pathway. ThozetBuilding3

Building 7 on the North Rockhampton campus of

was named the Thozet Building in 2003. The three-storey structure was one of the three original buildings to be constructed on the campus in 1964. With the building housing the Primary Industries Research Centre (Plant Sciences) and the Centre for Environmental Management, it was named the Thozet building on 9 October 2003 in honour of Thozet's outstanding contribution to pioneering plant science and research and in the development of horticulture in Rockhampton and Central Queensland. The building's plaque officially unveiled by Dr Joe Baker. However, The "Thozet Building" signage was removed from the exterior of the building prior to the installation of two murals on the eastern side of the building in 2017. Artists Bill Gannon, Luke Gannon and Jon Watson created murals of Aunty Ollie (a custodian of the Darumbal people) and Malcolm Mann (a Darumbal

traditional owner Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

) which were officially unveiled in September 2017. Since then, the building has been simply referred to as "Building 7" in the university's own online articles. In a 2019 online article, the university stated that the structure is "now known as building 7". In 2019, Thozet's name was short-listed as one of the top three names to be considered for the new riverside art gallery in

Rockhampton City Rockhampton City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the city of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region of Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Rockhampton Central business district, CBD. In the , Rockhampton C ...

. After a period of public consultation, the

Rockhampton Museum of Art The Rockhampton Museum of Art (RMOA) is an art museum located at 212–214 Quay Street, Rockhampton City, Queensland, Australia. It was officially opened on 25 February 2022 by Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, federal Capricornia MP ...

was chosen as the winning name with 101 votes compared to eight votes received from those who preferred the name of the Thozet Art Gallery.

References

*Queenslander 8 June 1878 p302d, obituary