Johann Freiderich Carl Wilhelmi (1829–1884) was a Dresden born seedsman who made large collections of botanical specimens in southern

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 ...

. Wilhelmi was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents such as Ludwig Becker,

Hermann Beckler Dr. Hermann Beckler (28 September 1828, in Höchstädt an der Donau – 10 December 1914, in Fischen im Allgäu) was a German doctor with an interest in botany. He went to Australia to collect specimens for Ferdinand von Mueller and served as ...

William Blandowski Johann Wilhelm Theodor Ludwig von Blandowski, known as William Blandowski (21 January 1822 – 18 December 1878), was a German explorer, soldier, zoologist and mining engineer of Polish descent, famous for his exploration of the Murray and Darlin ...

Amalie Dietrich Koncordie Amalie Dietrich (née Nelle) (26 May 1821 – 9 March 1891) was a Germans, German naturalist who was best known for her work in Australia from 1863 to 1872, collecting specimens for the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg. Australia Dietrich w ...

Wilhelm Haacke Johann Wilhelm Haacke (23 August 1855 – 6 December 1912) was a German zoologist born in Clenze, which is now Lower Saxony, who served as Director of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide from 1882 to 1884. Career He studied zoology at th ...

Diedrich Henne Diedrich Henne (1834 – 21 January 1913) was a German-born botanist and plant collector. He emigrated to Australia and was employed as an assistant to the colonial botanist Ferdinand von Mueller at the Melbourne Herbarium. Henne was one of a ...

Gerard Krefft Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 18 February 1881), was an Australian artist, draughtsman, scientist, and natural historian who served as the curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861–1874). He was one of A ...

, Johann Luehmann,

Johann Menge Johannes Menge (4 January 1788 – 1852), is regarded as South Australia's first geologist, though he had no formal qualifications. An early explorer of the new colony, he was influential in the settlement of the Barossa Valley. He has been ca ...

, Carl Mücke (a.k.a. Muecke),

Ludwig Preiss Johann August Ludwig Preiss (21 November 1811 – 21 May 1883) was a German-born British botanist and zoologist. Early life Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia. ...

, Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (a.k.a. Ruemker),

Moritz Richard Schomburgk Moritz Richard Schomburgk (5 October 1811 – 24 March 1891), generally known as Richard Schomburgk, was a German botanist and curator of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Family Schomburgk was born in Freyburg, Saxony, the son of Johann Friedrich L ...

, Richard Wolfgang Semon,

Karl Theodor Staiger Karl Theodor Staiger (died 5 October 1888) was a German chemical analyst, naturalist and museum curator. Karl Theodor Staiger worked as a chemist for the Queensland Government 1873–80 and worked with Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay. He was secretary ...

, George Ulrich,

Eugene von Guérard Johann Joseph Eugene von GuérardHis first name is variously spelled "Eugen", "Eugene", "Eugène", one source mentions "Jean" (instead of "Johann"); his surname is spelled "Guerard" or "Guérard". The most frequent combination is that used by t ...

, Robert von Lendenfeld,

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 ...

, and

Georg von Neumayer Georg Balthazar von Neumayer (21 June 1826 – 24 May 1909) was a German polar explorer and scientist who was a proponent of the idea of international cooperation for meteorology and scientific observation. He served as a hydrographer for the ...

who brought their "epistemic traditions" to Australia, and not only became "deeply entangled with the Australian colonial project", but also were "intricately involved in imagining, knowing and shaping colonial Australia" (Barrett, et al., 2018, p. 2). He was sent to

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 ...

in 1849, by the Dresden Missionary Society, and began assembling collections there until 1855. He then moved to Victoria and collected seed and specimens there until returning to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1869 (or 1865). He returned to his commercial interest is seeds before dying there in 1884. Wilhelmi's material was mainly collected at the

River Murray The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the n ...

's lower reaches, at

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

, and in the south-east of South Australia. In Victoria he made expeditions to the

Dandenongs The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

and other mountainous areas of Western Victoria, and to Corner Inlet in the

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

regions. He briefly visited

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 ...

and added specimens from Port Jackson. Most of his collection is held in the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

in Melbourne. Wilhemi also published a report of cultural practices and foods of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

. A plant he collected at the same location was described by

and his name was commemorated in the specific epithet of what is currently described as '' Homoranthus wilhelmii''.

Notes

References

* Barrett, L., Eckstein, L., Hurley, A.W. & Schwarz A. (2018), "Remembering German-Australian Colonial Entanglement: An Introduction", ''Postcolonial Studies'', Vol.21, No.1, (January 2018), pp. 1–5. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelmi, Carl 1829 births 1884 deaths Scientists from Dresden Botanical collectors active in Australia German expatriates in Australia Missionary botanists