Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in

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 ...

, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He was known by his middle name, Manson.

Early life

Bailey was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the second son of John Bailey (horticulturist and first Colonial Botanist of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

) and his wife, ''née'' Manson. Frederick was educated at the foundation school of the Independent Church at Hackney, London. The family went to Australia in 1838 arriving at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on 22 March 1839 in the ''Buckinghamshire''. John Bailey was appointed colonial botanist soon afterwards and was asked to form a botanic garden. John Bailey resigned in 1841, began farming, and subsequently started a plant nursery at Adelaide. In these ventures he was assisted by Frederick.

Career

In 1858, Bailey went to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and took up land in the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zea ...

. In 1861, Frederick started a seedsman's business in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. For some years, he was collecting in various parts of Queensland, and he also contributed articles to the newspapers on plant life. Bailey married Anna Maria, eldest daughter of the Rev. T. Waite in 1856. In 1874, Bailey published a ''Handbook to the Ferns of Queensland'', and in the following year was made botanist to the board appointed to investigate diseases of livestock and plants. Consequently, Bailey in 1879 published ''An Illustrated Monograph of the Grasses of Queensland'' with Karl Staiger. He was afterwards put in charge of the botanical section of the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...

, in 1881 was made colonial botanist of Queensland, and held this position until his death. He published in 1881 ''The Fern World of Australia'', and in 1883 appeared ''A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora'', a work of nearly 900 pages to which supplementary volumes were added in later years. In 1891, he wrote Botany:Contributions to the Queensland Flora (on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Brisbane) as colonial botanist. ''A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora'' was then superseded by ''The Queensland Flora'', published in six volumes between 1899 and 1902 with an index published three years later. In the meantime, there had been ''A Companion for the Queensland Student of Plant Life and Botany Abridged'' (1897), a revised reissue of two earlier pamphlets. Among other works of Bailey was ''A Catalogue of the Indigenous and Naturalised Plants of Queensland'' (1890). This was expanded into a ''Comprehensive Catalogue of Queensland Plants, Both Indigenous and Naturalised'' (1912), which appeared with many illustrations. Bailey travelled widely, important expeditions included

Rockingham Bay Rockingham Bay is a bay in Far North Queensland, Australia. The bay opens onto the Coral Sea, part of the South Pacific Ocean. Adjacent to the bay is the Girramay National Park, south of which is the town of Cardwell. Goold Island is a small ...

, Seaview Range and the upper

Herbert River The Herbert River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by George Elphinstone Dalrymple explorer, after Robert Herbert, Robert George Wyndham Herbert, th ...

(1873), western Queensland, Roma and

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- ...

(1876),

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and the Barron River (1877),

Mount Bellenden Ker Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the s ...

(1889),

Georgina River The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in Central West Queensland, that also flows through a portion of the Northern Territory, in central Australia. Part of the Lake Eyre basin, the Georg ...

(1895),

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

(1897) and

British New Guinea The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Colony of Queensland, Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government ...

(1898). Bailey was awarded the

Clarke Medal The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences. The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Branwh ...

of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. It is the oldest learned society in the Southern Hemisphere. The Society traces its ...

in 1902, and was created C.M.G. (Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

) in 1911. Bailey died on 25 June 1915 at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane. He is buried in South Brisbane Cemetery.

Legacy

Bailey's name has been attached to about 50 species of plants by fellow botanists, such as ''

Acacia baileyana ''Acacia baileyana'', commonly known as Cootamundra wattle, Bailey's wattle or golden mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales, although it has become Naturalisation (b ...

'' and ''

Grevillea baileyana ''Grevillea edelfeltii'', commonly known as white oak, is a tree of the family Proteaceae and is native to the rainforests of north-east Queensland in Australia and to Papua New Guinea. Description In its native rainforest habitat, ''Grevillea e ...

''. A son, John Frederick Bailey, who survived him, was director of the Brisbane and then Adelaide botanic gardens and

Cyril Tenison White Cyril Tenison White (17 August 1890 – 15 August 1950) was an Australian botanist. Early life White was born in Brisbane, Queensland, to Henry White, a trade broker, and Louisa (''nee'' Bailey). He attended school at South Brisbane State Sch ...

, government botanist of Queensland was his grandson and a pupil-assistant in 1905.

References

Other sources

*Australian National Botanic Garden
Bailey, Frederick M. (1827–1915)

External links

*Vie
works by F.M. Bailey
at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...

. *Entry fo
F.M. Bailey
in Taxonomic Literature II Online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Frederick Manson 20th-century Australian botanists Pteridologists 1827 births 1915 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century British botanists