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Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 18 February 1881), was an Australian artist, draughtsman, scientist, and
natural historian Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
who served as the
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
of the
Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...
for 13 years (1861–1874). He was one of
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 ...
's first and most influential
palaeontologists Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
and
zoologists This is a list of notable zoologists who have published names of new taxa under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A * Abe – Tokiharu Abe (1911–1996) * Abeille de Perrin, Ab. – Elzéar Abeille de Perrin (1843–1910) * ...
, "some of
hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...
observations on animals have not been surpassed and can no longer be equalled because of the spread of settlement (Rutledge & Whitley, 1974). He is also noted as an
ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
for his scientific description of the
Queensland lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...
(now recognized as a classic example of Darwin's "living fossils"); and, in addition to his numerous scientific papers and his extensive series of weekly newspaper articles on natural history, his publications include ''The Snakes of Australia'' (1869), ''Guide to the Australian Fossil Remains in the Australian Museum'' (1870f), ''The Mammals of Australia'' (1871f), ''On Australian Entozoa'' (1872a), and ''Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum'' (1873a).See list of Publications, below. Krefft was one of the very few Australian scientists in the 1860s and 1870s to support Darwin's position on the origin of species by means of natural selection. According to Macdonald, et al. (2007), he was one of the first to warn of the devastating effects of the
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
(sheep, cats, etc.) on native species. Also, along with several significant others such as
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
, during his 1836 visit to the Blue Mountains, Edward Wilson, the proprietor of the Melbourne ''Argus'', and George Bennett, one of the trustees of the Australian Museum Krefft expressed considerable concern in relation to the effects of the expanding European settlement upon the indigenous population. ::Gerard Krefft is a significant figure in the history of nineteenth century Australian science. He is celebrated not only for his zoological work but as a man who was prepared to challenge individuals on points of scientific fact regardless of their position in Sydney society or metropolitan science. He is also remembered as one who could be abrasive and incautious in delicate political situations and a man whose career and life ultimately ended in tragedy. The dramatic end of Krefft's career in 1874 where he was stripped of his position as Australian Museum curator, physically removed from the Museum and his character assassinated often overshadows his early career and his development as a scientist.Stephens (2013), p. 187.


Family

Krefft was born on 17 February 1830 in the
Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...
(now part of Germany), the son of William Krefft, a
confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...
, and his wife Johanna (''née'' Bischhoff).Rutledge & Whitley (1974).


Education

He was educated at St Martin's College in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
(i.e., ) from 1834 to 1845. As a youth, he was interested in art, especially painting animals, and wanted to go on to a formal study of painting; however, after his schooling, his family found employment for him at a mercantile firm in
Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
.


Marriage

He married Annie McPhail, later (1893) Mrs. Robert Macintosh, on 6 February 1869. According to Nancarrow (2007, p. 5), Annie McPhail was the Australian-born daughter of Scottish bounty immigrants, who had arrived in Australia in 1837 to work for George Bowman, and she was five months pregnant at the time of her marriage to Krefft. They had four children, only two of whom survived their infancy: Rudolph Gerard Krefft (1869–1951), and Herman Gerard Krefft (1879–1911). A fifth child, an unnamed stillborn daughter, was delivered on 2 July 1874.


German heritage

As a German speaker, Krefft belonged to the largest non-English-speaking group in Australia in the 1800s; and, as such, Krefft was one of a number of influential German-speaking scientists who, according to Barrett, et al. (2018, p. 2) 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". Moreover, in relation to Krefft (the scientist), and his wider disciplinary allegiances, and his limited deference to the supposed authority of the established British scientific elite, unlike the Anglo-Australian trustees of the Australian Museum and "like many
f the German F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
scientists working in Australia, England was never "home" for Krefft as it was for the majority of colonists" and, typically, England did not "provid the sole intellectual influence for refft'sinvestigations" (Davidson, 2017, p. 81).


"Natural history"

Given Vallance's tripartite division (1978) of nineteenth century Australian science i.e., the '' proto-scientific period'' (1788–1839), the ''pioneer-scientific period'' (1840–1874), and the ''classic science period'' (1875-) Krefft's influential Australian career was firmly centred in the pioneer-scientific period. Consequently, and in order to avoid the prochronistic mistake of viewing the past through the eyes of the present, and given, * that the Australian Museum (established in 1827) is the fifth oldest
museum of natural history A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...
in the world, * the need to identify the Australian Museum's orientation during Krefft's tenure, * the need to identify Krefft's particular domains of interest (and influence) as a scientist, * the on-going significance of Krefft's (more than 180) "Natural History" articles published in the ''Sydney Mail'' from March 1871 to June 1875, and * that 19th. century ''natural'' history was concerned with the study of nature; and, from this, it was directly involved with the evidence obtained from the direct observation of nature (however ambiguously "nature" might be described), * that, in 1822 (pp. iii-iv)
Friedrich Mohs Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs ( , ; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crysta ...
drew attention to the inappropriateness of the label ''natural history'', on the grounds that it "does not express the essential properties of the science to which it is applied", and * that, in 1837, prompted by Mohs' remarks,
William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...
, the mineralogist, scholar and, later,
Master of Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, is headed by a master who oversees the general operation of the college. The role is officially appointed by the monarch at the recommendation of the college, and involves p ...
(from 1841 to 1866), who, in his time, was "recognized as the leading authority on new erminologicalcoinages" as part of his ground-breaking work in relation to the issues of terminology and classification within the sciences, and extending the meaning of the (recently introduced) English term
palæontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
suggested the alternative notion of "palætiological sciences" to denote "those researches in which the object is, to ascend from the present state of things to a more ancient condition, from which the present is derived by intelligible causes" (Whewell, 1837, p. 481). it is important to note that the widely used "umbrella" terms of ''natural history'' and ''natural historian'' (or ''naturalist'') were generally understood (and variously applied) in the mid-1800s to identify the collective endeavours of an extremely wide range of diverse enterprises that are, now, separately identified as, at least, the disciplines of
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
,
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
botany 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 ...
,
ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
,
entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
,
ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...
,
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
,
herpetology Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
,
ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
,
mammalogy In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems. The archive of number of mammals on earth is constantly growi ...
,
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
,
mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...
,
ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
,
palaeontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geo ...
, and
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
.


"Darwinian doctrine" and the consequent "Darwinian controversy"

::In a landmark book entitled ''
On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'')The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by M ...
by Means of Natural Selection'', Darwin argued against the conventional notion that God had supernaturally created the original types of plants and animals 'the immutability of species'">Transmutation of species#Opposition to transmutation">'the immutability of species'and in favor of the idea that they had evolved naturally over long periods of time primarily, though not exclusively, by means of random variation and natural selection.Numbers & Stenhouse (1999), p. 1. Krefft's professional career, his museum curatorship, his interactions with the Anglo-Australian trustees of the Australian Museum, and his professional endeavours to disseminate the latest scientific understandings to the people of New South Wales in the mid-1800s coincided with an entirely new awareness of the world, derived from the abundance of ongoing scientific advances, technological innovations, geological discoveries, and colonial explorations, and the emerging rational skepticism, expressed by Bishop John Colenso (Colenso, 1862, 1865, 1971, 1873, 1879) and others, about the objective veracity of specific Christian scriptures (e.g., Noah's Ark, the Deluge, the
Crossing of the Red Sea The Parting of the Red Sea or Crossing of the Red Sea (, lit. "parting of the sea of reeds") is an episode in The Exodus, a foundational story in the Hebrew Bible. It tells of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses, from the pursuing Egypt ...
,
the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
, etc.), along with the concomitant challenges to the heretofore accepted theology, tenets of faith, and established religious practices. The controversy over Colenso's challenges to Biblical authority, accepted authorship, and historical accuracy continued in Australia; e.g., on 7 July 1873, the Melbourne-based Jesuit, Joseph O'Malley, author of ''Noah's Ark Vindicated and Explained: A Reply to Dr. Colenso's Difficulties'' (1871) (which included O'Malley's "Imaginary Plan of the
080 stalls in the 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...
Ark"), visited Sydney and lectured on "Noah's Ark", delivering the standard Roman Catholic position on Noah's Ark and the Deluge, and attempting to explain away many of Colenso's challenges. The lecture, chaired by the devout Irish Catholic layman Justice Peter Faucett, Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales who would later (in 1875) express the judicial opinion that Krefft's dismissal from his Museum curatorship was justified was well attended."Lecture on Noah's Ark, by the Rev. J O'Malley, S.J.", ''The Freeman's Journal'', (12 July 1873), pp.&nbs
910


Evolution

Darwin was not the first to speak of "evolution"; and it is important to note that Darwin, himself, did not use the term "evolution" until the sixth (1872) edition of his ''Origin'' (in its first five editions Darwin spoke of "descent through modification"). Robert Chambers, in his popular works, ''Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' (1844/1884) and ''Explanations'' (1845), had already made the notion of "evolution" a matter of public discussion. Also, there were the two earlier (anonymous) articles recently attributed (see: Tanghe & Kestemont, 2018) to
Robert Jameson image:Robert Jameson.jpg, Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish natural history, naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the Univers ...
, the
Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...
of
Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
and, also, the Journal's editor "Observations on the Nature and Importance of Geology" (Anon, 1826; esp. pp. 297–299) and "Of the Changes which Life has experienced on the Globe" (Anon, 1827), that had been published in the ''Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal'' at the time that Darwin was studying medicine at Edinburgh University. Jameson's articles were even more influential in the case of Darwin, given the fact that during the 1826/1827 academic year, Darwin had, as an extracurricular study, "assiduously" attended Jameson's popular natural history lectures at Edinburgh University, which involved "lectures five days a week for five months" (Secord, 1991, pp. 134–135), at least one of which was entitled "''On the Origins of the Animal Species''" (Tanghe & Kestemont, 2018, p. 586).


Natural selection

::Fertilized by his
839 __NOTOC__ Year 839 ( DCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Prince Sicard of Benevento is assassinated by a conspiracy among the nobility. He is succeeded by Radelchis I, c ...
''Beagle'' journal from his four years as a travelling naturalist and his subsequent experiments and research, ''The Origin'' was stocked with new biological data drawn from sources across the globe, its wide compass offering a detailed proposal for the progressive development of species and a positivist biological framework for man's understanding of the natural world.Moyal & Marks, 2019, p. 5. In a paper read to the
Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...
on 1 July 1858 written separately from, but presented jointly with, that of
Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 pap ...
(i.e., Darwin & Wallace, 1858) that was firmly based upon the foundations of the extensive and varied evidence provided by his comprehensive in-the-field observations over two decades, Darwin was the first to propose "natural selection" (as opposed to the "artificial selection" of livestock- or plant-breeders) thereby " ubstitutinga natural for a supernatural explanation of the material organic universe" (Abbott, 1912, p. 18) as the ''process'' responsible for the diversity of life on Earth. Along with the Sydney botanist, Robert D. FitzGerald, and the Melbourne economist, Professor William Edward Hearn, Krefft was one of the very few Australian scientists in the 1860s and 1870s who supported Darwin's position on the origin of species by means of natural selection.


Ellegård's five "positions" held by scientists in the Darwinian controversy

::What appears so remarkable to
hose in A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound wi ...
a later age is that in the mid-nineteenth century scientists could look upon a supernatural explanation as a valid alternative to a scientific one.Ellegård (1990), p. 15. ::The law of succession s demonstrated by The Wellington Caves' ''Diprotodon'' fossils">Diprotodon.html" ;"title="s demonstrated by The Wellington Caves' ''Diprotodon">s demonstrated by The Wellington Caves' ''Diprotodon'' fossils once firmly established, provided a powerful argument in favour of evolution. If one adopts the theory that new species develop from preexisting ones by a process of descent with modification, then it is absolutely necessary that there be a continuity between existing species and recently extinct species. Moreover, the opposing theories of the anti-evolutionists failed to explain this continuity.Dugan (1980), p. 270. Alvar Ellegård's extensive (1958) survey of the coverage of the "Darwinian doctrine" in the U.K. press between 1859 and 1872 distinguished three aspects "first, the Evolution idea in its general application to the whole of the organic world; second, the Natural Selection theory; and third, hetheory of Man's descent from the lower animals" (Ellegård, 1990, p. 24) and identified five ideological "positions" taken (or ideological "attitudes" displayed) by individual participants over that decade and a half, which were determined, to a considerable extent, not only by their levels of education, but also by their particular politico-social, philosophical, and/or religious orientation. These five positions (collectively) reflected a simple series, which "indicate an increasing degree of favourableness towards Darwin's theory, from total rejection to complete acceptance" (p. 30); and, as one moved from lower (A) to higher (E) along Ellegård's series, "less and less of the processes going into the formation of species were recognized
y those holding that position Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...
as supernatural, or outside the range of ordinary scientific explanation ... nd, thereforeanybody accepting a position with a higher
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accepted ''
ipso facto is a Latin phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself", which means that a specific phenomenon is a ''direct'' consequence, a resultant ''effect'', of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a previous action. (Contras ...
'' all the scientific explanation already granted by those holding a lower position" (p. 31): * (A): ''Absolute Creation'' (p. 30): "the fundamentalist religious position, according to which each species arose as a distinct and instantaneous creation, in the literal and naïve sense of the word"; * (B): ''Progressive Creation'' (p. 30): "where species developed mysteriously from the simplest organic form";Mozley (1967), p. 430. * (C): ''Derivation'' (p. 30): "which recognised the principle of descent in progressive evolution but allowed that this mechanism was only one of the secondary processes which the Creator employed"; * (D): ''Directed Selection'' (p. 31): "which admitted the efficacy of Natural Selection for a considerable number of specific differentiations, but relied on a
teleological Teleology (from , and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology. In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Applet ...
explanation as an indispensable part of the explanation of the organic world"; and * (E): ''Natural Selection'' (p. 31): "the scientific, non-teleological, non-supernatural explanation of the evolution of the whole organic world". According to Ellegård's survey (p. 32), until 1863, the majority of British scientists belonged to either (A) or (B); but, by 1873, the majority had moved to either (C) or (D), with a small number of them going on to position (E). However, things were considerably different in Australia. Setting aside disciplinary "
outliers In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter ar ...
" such as FitzGerald, Hearn, and Krefft (each of whom held position (E)) and ignoring the (peripheral) fact that Charles Darwin was elected as an honorary member 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 1879, and that pro-Darwinians, the natural historian,
Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...
, and the botanist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, were awarded the Society's prestigious
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 ...
in 1880 and 1885 respectively it was not really until the late 1890s, due to the influence of the academic appointments of
William Aitcheson Haswell William Aitcheson Haswell (5 August 1854 – 24 January 1925) was a Scottish-Australian zoologist specialising in crustaceans, winner of the 1915 Clarke Medal. His zoological author abbreviation is Haswell. Early life Haswell was born at Gay ...
to the University of Sydney, Baldwin Spencer to the University of Melbourne,
Ralph Tate Ralph Tate (11 March 1840 – 20 September 1901) was a British-born botanist and geologist, who was later active in Australia. Early life Tate was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, the son of Thomas Turner Tate (1807–1888), a teacher of math ...
to the University of Adelaide, and James Thomas Wilson to the University of Sydney, etc., and the administrative/curatorial appointments of Robert Etheridge to the Australian Museum in Sydney, Baldwin Spencer to the National Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, and Herbert Scott to the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston, etc., that the majority of Australian scientists began to move away from (A) or (B), and that "the contributions of Darwin and his successors
ould begin to Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–1909), English ...
seriously affect Australian thinking and bring it into the mainstream of scientific thought" (Mozley, p. 430).


Artist

In order to avoid the military draft, Krefft moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1850,Stephens, 2013.Nancarrow (2009), p. 146. where he was employed as a clerk and a draughtsman, and was mainly concerned with producing depictions of sea views and shipping.Heaton (1879), p. 108. Whilst in New York, he encountered the work of
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
at the
New York Mercantile Library The Center for Fiction, originally called the New York Mercantile Library, is a not-for-profit organization in New York City, with offices at 15 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Prior to their move in early 2018, The Center for Fiction ...
. Having been granted permission to do so, Krefft made copies of some of the Audubon plates, which he then sold to raise his fare to Australia. Krefft arrived in Melbourne, from New York, on 15 October 1852, on the ''Revenue'', and worked in the
Victorian goldfields The Goldfields region of Victoria is a region commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography and tourism geography (in particular heritage tourism). The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle. Description ...
"with much success" for some five years. Krefft contributed examples of his drawings to the ''Victorian Industrial Society's'' Exhibition, in Melbourne, in February 1858.


Victoria (1852 – 1858)


Melbourne

Having met the mining engineer
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 ...
when he (Krefft) was making copies of Gould's illustrations of native animals in ''
The Mammals of Australia ''The Mammals of Australia'' is a three-volume work written and published by John Gould between 1845–63. It contains 182 illustrations by the author and its artist Henry Constantine Richter, H. C. Richter. It was intended to be a complete surve ...
'' in the Public Library of Victoria, the talented artist and draughtsman was hired, by Blandowski, "on the basis of Krefft's ability to produce detailed drawings of natural history specimens", to help sketch and collect specimens for the
National Museum of Victoria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
on William Blandowski's expeditions into the relatively poorly-known and semi-arid country around the confluence of the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
and
Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...
in 1856–1857. Krefft acted as Blandowski's
amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...
("taking dictation from Blandowski by candlelight after dinner"), was responsible for the preparation of specimens, recording of all the biological material, caring for the horses and bullocks, and "much of the day-to-day work around the camp, including cooking" (Menkhorst, 2009, p. 65). Blandowski was recalled to Melbourne by the Victorian Government in early August 1857, and he took all of his collected material back to Melbourne with him. Krefft then took command of the expedition until it finally returned at the end of November 1857.Whitley (1958), p. 23. In 1858 Krefft was appointed to the
National Museum of Victoria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
to catalogue the collection of specimens that he (i.e., Krefft) had brought back to Melbourne with him, which he listed under 3389 catalogue numbers.


Blandowski, the Museum of Natural History, and Professor McCoy

Krefft's later accounts of the expedition's discoveries (viz., 1865a and 1865b) are not only significant in themselves, but have additional significance due to the controversies surrounding Blandowski's sudden departure from Australia along with his collection of illustrations, documents, in-the-field notes, and specimens. Apart from Blandowski's (1862) controversial ''Australien in 142 photographischen Abbildungen nach zehnjährigen Erfahrungen'' ('Australia in 142 Photographic Illustrations after a Decade of Experiences'), Blandowski never published anything further in relation to that expedition. Blandowski, one of the inaugural members of the Council of the
Philosophical Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (found ...
, had been appointed as the Government Zoologist in 1854 by
Andrew Clarke Andrew Clarke may refer to: * Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1793) (1793–1847), Governor of Western Australia *Sir Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824) (1824–1902), Governor of the Straits Settlements, son of the above *An ...
,
Surveyor General of Victoria The Surveyor-General of Victoria is the public service officer nominally responsible for government surveying in Victoria, Australia. The original duties for the Surveyor-General were to measure and determine land grants for settlers in Victoria. ( ...
. He also served (''
ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'') as the curator of the ''Museum of Natural History'', which had opened on 9 March 1854, was open to the public for six hours daily, and was located in the Assay Office in La Trobe Street, Melbourne. Blandowski's opposition to the controversial (1856) decision to (permanently, rather than temporarily) move the collection of the ''Museum of Natural History'' to the (then remote) campus of the fledgeling
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
, and deliver it over to the custody of the university's Professor of Natural Science,
Frederick McCoy Sir Frederick McCoy (1817 – 13 May 1899), was an Irish palaeontologist, zoologist, and museum administrator, active in Australia. He is noted for founding the Botanic Garden of the University of Melbourne in 1856. Early life McCoy was the s ...
, who argued (1857) that museums should exist to serve the interests of real science, rather than them "being at best a place merely for heinnocent amusement of schoolboys and idlers" rather than, that is, follow the example of the British Museum and locate the collection within the premises of the (central)
Melbourne Public Library State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...
, "which was the first free public library in Victoria and the centrepiece of public education and improvement in the colony" led to many clashes with McCoy ("after his return to Melbourne
landowski Landowski or Landowsky (feminine Landowska, plural Landowscy) is a Polish name, Polish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Françoise Landowski-Caillet (1917–2007), French pianist and painter, son of Paul * Jan Landowski, Polish ...
never reported back to duty at the museum").Paszkowski (1969). There were also well-founded accusations that, " aving arrivedin Adelaide in August 1857 with twenty-eight boxes containing 17,400 specimens", Blandowski had failed to deliver the material collected during his expedition upon his return to Melbourne, despite being "ordered three times by the Victorian government to return his specimens and manuscripts" a fact that explains, in the absence of any coherent account in English of Blandowski's collected material, the value of Krefft's later accounts (1865a and 1865b) of the expedition's discoveries. When "threatened by legal action by the Victorian government over the ownership of the Expedition notebooks and illustrations" (Menkhorst, 2009, p. 85), Blandowski hurriedly (and secretly) left Melbourne, on 17 March 1859 (on Captain A.A. Ballaseyers's Prussian
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
''Mathilde''), never to return.


Germany

In 1858, following the death of his father, Krefft was obliged to return to Germany, where he travelled via England where he visited the principal museums, met up with
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...
,
John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...
,
Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile tax ...
, and
Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkabl ...
, and presented a paper (Krefft, 1858b) to the
Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
. Krefft took many illustrations and specimens with him; however, as Allen (2006, p. 33) notes, "after his return to Germany, Krefft attempted to publish his observations and drawings, but was prevented from doing so by Blandowski ...
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...
Blandowski claim ng to Krefft's publisherthat the artwork from the expedition belonged to him, as expedition leader".


Natural historian, museum curator and administrator

Krefft returned to Australia from his sojourn in Germany, with brief stays ''en route'' at the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
and
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 ...
, arriving in Sydney on 6 May 1860. In June 1860, on the recommendation of Governor Sir William Denison, he was appointed Assistant Curator to Simon Rood Pittard (1821–1861) at the
Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...
, "much to the annoyance of the museum trustees, who would have preferred someone with a formal degree". Pittard, driven by his
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
,
Puseyite The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...
views and following the practice of
Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, military officer, scientist, and naturalist. In 1775, inspired by the American Revolution, Peale moved from his native Maryland to Philadelphia, where he set ...
at the
Peale Museum The Peale is a community museum in Baltimore, Maryland, which opened in 2022 after a 5-year renovation. It occupies the first building in the Americas, Western Hemisphere to be designed and built specifically as a museum. Rembrandt Peale's ori ...
, in Philadelphia adorned the walls of the Museum with inscriptions of biblical texts. Less than three weeks after Pittard's death (in August 1861) the Trustees decided that these inscriptions were " obe removed, and that in future "no words be inscribed on the walls of the Board Room without the consent of the Trustees"." Having performed all of the duties of the position since Pittard's death in August 1861, Krefft was eventually appointed Curator of the museum in May 1864. During his time at the Australian Museum, Krefft maintained a relationship with the
Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, ...
, corresponding and exchanged specimens with
Frederick McCoy Sir Frederick McCoy (1817 – 13 May 1899), was an Irish palaeontologist, zoologist, and museum administrator, active in Australia. He is noted for founding the Botanic Garden of the University of Melbourne in 1856. Early life McCoy was the s ...
, its Director. He also corresponded with a wide range of eminent overseas naturalists, including
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
, A.K.L.G. Günther, and
Sir Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. ...
in the UK; L.J.R. Agassiz in the USA; "and many learned German scientists". It is significant that Krefft's interactions were "informal communications with individuals rather than official dealings through government agencies, with the ensuing connections giving rise to further interactions with savants and museums in other centres of knowledge and power, including Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Sweden, Argentina, Canada, India and the United States, as well as Britain" (Davidson, 2017, p. 8). He was also responsible for arranging and cataloguing the Museum's collection of donated fossils, as well as those he had discovered during his own exploratory efforts in the field, such as the two important excavations of the fossil remains of
megafauna In zoology, megafauna (from Ancient Greek, Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and Neo-Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") are large animals. The precise definition of the term varies widely, though a common threshold is approximately , this lower en ...
(mammals, birds, and reptiles) he conducted in 1866 (in the company of his assistants Henry Barnes and Charles Tost) and 1869 (in the company of his assistant Henry Barnes, along with
William Branwhite Clarke William Branwhite Clarke, FRS (2 June 179816 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia. Early life and England Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk, the eldest child of William Clarke, schoolmaster, and h ...
, the Museum trustee, and
Edward Deas Thomson Sir Edward Deas Thomson (1 June 1800 – 16 July 1879) was a Scotsman who became an administrator and politician in Australia, and was chancellor of the University of Sydney. Background and early career Thomson was born at Edinburgh, Scotland. ...
, the
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
) at the
Wellington Caves The Wellington Caves are a group of limestone caves located south of Wellington, New South Wales, Australia. History The Wellington region was long inhabited by the 'Binjang mob' of the Wiradjuri, Wiradjuri people. While there is no direct ...
. According to Nancarrow (2009), the expenses for Krefft's fossil-collecting field trip to the Wellington Caves were £200, "but the value of the material collected (by exchange with other museums) was over £1,000" (p 149).


Darwinism

::With the publication of the ''Origin of Species'' ... the entire problem
f taxonomical representation F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
was viewed from a different perspective rom the way that "the pre-Darwinian biologists interpreted a natural system" Suddenly the reason for the existence of natural systematic categories became apparent: their members were related because of descent from a common ancestor! A
taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
was now interpreted as a
monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
array of related form
Sokal & Sneath (1963), p. 20.
Krefft's scientific career and, in particular, his entire professional life at the Australian Museum was concurrent with (and greatly influenced by) the "Darwinian controversy" and its widespread ramifications; not the least of which was the central administrative (and scientific) question of which individual specimens should be exhibited (or not) in the Museum, and, if so, in what sort of order, and in which sort of way. Another concomitant and equally serious challenge to the disciplinary ''
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
'' was
taxonomical In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are given ...
: namely, the extent to which the acceptance of Darwin's notions of gradual evolution demanded that naturalists shift from '' polythetic'' "classification from below", "the grouping of
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
into
genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
, genera into
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
, tribes into
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
, and so on", to ''monothetic'' "classification from above", "the division of the
kingdoms Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...
into
phyla Phyla, the plural of ''phylum'', may refer to: * Phylum, a biological taxon between Kingdom and Class * by analogy, in linguistics, a large division of possibly related languages, or a major language family which is not subordinate to another Phy ...
, phyla into classes, and so on"
Sokal & Sneath, 1963, pp. 15-16
.


"The New Museum Idea"

Krefft, who had returned to Australia in 1860 "with a comprehensive knowledge of the new approaches being adopted in Europe to the role and purpose of museums", was "a dynamic figure who vigorously researched, wrote about and promoted the ustralianMuseum's collections". He served as curator at a time of significant
culture change Culture change is a term used in public policy making and in workplaces that emphasizes the influence of cultural capital on individual and community behavior. It has been sometimes called repositioning of culture, which means the reconstruction of ...
, both in terms of the place of science and scientific standards within the community, and in terms of the embedded assumptions, foundation principles, and experimental strategies of science itself. With Krefft as its curator, and despite the resistance of its trustees, the museum was slowly shifting "from einga colonial offshoot of the British science establishment, managed by a group of gentleman naturalists, towards ecomingan institution serving the needs of an increasingly independent and professional group of scientists" (Stephens, 2007, p. 305).


Cabinets of curiosities

::Which is the most important object:that of collecting a cabinet of natural curiosities, to become the admiration of children and their nurses, or that of conveying knowledge and truth to the ignorant, to those in whose persons reside that power which will decide the future of this large and important country?G.H. Rowley, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 8 August 1865. For at least two centuries British (and colonial) museums, clearly reflecting their '' Wunderkämmer/Cabinets of Curiosities'' heritage, had done little more than present "aimless collection of curiosities and
bric-à-brac Bric-à-brac () or bric-a-brac (from French), first used in the Victorian era, around 1840, refers to lesser objets d'art forming collections of curios. The French phrase dates from the 16th century meaning "at random, any old way". Shops s ...
, brought together without method or system of collections"; where, for instance, one of the most famous collections in "bygone days", that of the seventeenth century's '' Musæum Tradescantianum'' (the collection which later provided the nucleus for Oxford University's
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...
), "was a miscellany without didactic value", "its arrangement was unscientific, and the public gained little or no advantage from its existence" (Lindsay, 1911, p. 60). In August 1846, within the Act establishing the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, was a provision transferring the custody of the United States' official ''National Cabinet of Curiosities'', that had been previously deposited in the US Patent Office Building, to the Smithsonian.


Public museums

Acknowledging the differences between a museum's research and public pedagogy functions, and expressing his hope that his colleagues would "heartily concur in doing all that is in our power to render he British Museumand other institutions conducive to the increase of the knowledge, the happiness, and the comforts of the people",Gray (1864), "Presidential Address", p. 86.
John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...
, towards the end of his lengthy career as the Curator of the British Museum, remarked that, in his view, "public museums" were meant to serve the dual purposes of "the diffusion of instruction and rational amusement among the mass of the people, and ... to afford the scientific student every possible means of examining and studying the specimens of which the museum consists". In the 1860s, a time when "Colonial museums tended to exhibit specimens row upon row, and for the most part neglected to incorporate up-to-date techniques such as explanatory labels and habitat cases" (Sheets-Pyenson, 1988, p. 123), Gray's scientific position, his curatorial rationale, and his administrative approach were strongly supported by Krefft. Krefft, who was "devoted to the museum's interests", rather than to those of the trustees, had already begun separating his own museum's research collections from its exhibition collections, and had already adopted many of Gray's measures by the early 1860s. Having just received Gray's (1868) pamphlet in the mail, he emphasized in the presentation ("Improvements Effected in Modern Museums in Europe and Australia") he gave to 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 ...
on 5 August 1868 that his (Krefft's) ongoing efforts at the Australian Museum were made in the hope of changing it from being "one of the old curiosity shops of fifty years ago" into a "useful Museum" (Krefft, 1868b, p. 15). These curatorial aspirations were not unique to Krefft; they were entirely consistent with the world's
best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...
, as described by Gray, in relation to displaying exhibits and mounted specimens at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
"to the best advantage, both for the student and for the general visitor" (Krefft, 1868b, p. 21).


The "new museum"

In 1893, Sir William Henry Flower, labelled Gray's (1864) view "''The New Museum Idea''"; and characterized it as "the key-note of nearly all the museum reform of recent date", (Flower, 1893, pp. 29–30). Although these views were not unique to Gray, it does seem that Gray's (1864) axiom had the widest dissemination over the ensuing years, was the most widely quoted and, therefore, can be said to have had the greatest influence influencing many world-wide, including Krefft, and in the UK, such as Flower, at the British Museum (see: Flower, 1898), and in the US, such as G. Brown Goode at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
(see: Goode, 1895), and
Henry Fairfield Osborn Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sr. (August 8, 1857 – November 6, 1935) was an American paleontologist, geologist and eugenics advocate. He was professor of anatomy at Columbia University, president of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 y ...
, at the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
(see, Osborn, 1912), etc. In 1917, American museum director
John Cotton Dana John Cotton Dana (August 19, 1856, in Woodstock, Vermont – July 21, 1929, in Newark, New Jersey) was an American library and museum director who sought to make these cultural institutions relevant to the daily lives of citizens. As a public ...
lamented the fact that there was still great room for improvement, noting that the best museum displays were to be found in
department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made ...
, rather than in museums of the day.


Krefft's curatorial rationale

Krefft actively promoted the concept of the museum as a popular institution appealing to a broader audience: that is, an establishment designed to provide experiences that engage, entertain, ''and'' educate all ages, economic groups, education levels, and social classes, as well as being a place for the collection, preservation, and display of specimens, and the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Krefft's curatorial advocacy of the complete separation of the Museum's at-the-time confused and disordered collection into: :(a) the exhibition spaces and the ordered, comprehensive, displays for the public (known today as ''synoptical collections''), and :(b) the (systematically housed elsewhere on the premises) specimens, catalogues, and other research material primarily intended for research, rather than display, produced the on-going culture-clash with the (predominately
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
) " gentlemen amateurs" among the Trustees including Dr. James Charles Cox, Edward Smith Hill, Sir William John Macleay, Captain Arthur Onslow, and
Alexander Walker Scott Alexander Walker Scott (10 November 1800 – 1 November 1883) was an Australian entomologist mainly interested in butterflies. Scott was the son of Dr Helenus Scott, Helenus and Augusta Maria Scott. He was born in Bombay, India and was educated ...
, who were collectors themselves, who regarded their privileged access to the museum and its resources one of the perquisites they enjoyed in return for their unpaid services as trustees (Strahan 1979, p. 28), and were "building up heir ownprivate collections sometimes at the expense of the museum" that eventually led to Krefft's later (1874) dismissal.


Lack of funding

At the same time that Krefft was experiencing difficulties with his (anti-Darwinian) trustees in relation to matters of specimen display, classification, and presentation, the trustees, themselves who operated under the provisions of the ''Australian Museum Act, 1853'' continuously complained of the absence of appropriate government funding to allow, regardless of what material they might contain, the construction of the required number of display tables, display cases, and display cabinets. Many of those annual reports also contain specific, urgent appeals for additional funding to allow the publication of various items, created by Krefft, that were, at the time, complete and printer-ready. An extended, critical editorial in '' The Empire'' in 1868 noted that, although Krefft had a "voluminous catalogue of the specimens contained in the library arranged for the printer" it appeared that "there are no funds to enable the trustees to carry out this necessary matter"."The Sydney Museum"
''The (Sydney) Empire'', (16 May 1868), p. 5.
In 1869, with no funds available for its publication, Krefft paid the Government Printer, himself ("£225 for 700 copies"), to produce his definitive work ''The Snakes of Australia'' (Strahan, 1979, p. 135).


Photography

One of Krefft's most important curatorial innovations was his introduction of photography, initially using his own personal camera, photographic equipment, chemicals, and photographic materials a medium he had first encountered during his time with the Blandowski Expedition in 1856–1857 into the Australian Museum's practice. Photography not only provided a valuable means through which the Museum's objects and collections could be documented, but also served to substantiate the veracity of Krefft's colonial observations, and enhance his (and the Museum's) international recognition overall, due to the fact that, unlike single physical specimens, the photographs could also be "endlessly duplicated" and, therefore, sent simultaneously to a wide range of experts and centres of European and American scholarship other than just to London alone. Moreover, over time, photographs significantly reduced the need to send precious specimens and samples overseas to the detriment of the Museum's own collections: see, for instance, the (1870) photograph of Krefft's first-ever Queensland lungfish specimen (at Finney, 2022, p. 6), and the four (1870) photographs of the specimen at various stages of its dissection by Krefft (at Finney, 2022, pp. 6–7). The thousands of meticulously arranged visual images on the glass plates that Krefft and his assistant, Henry Barnes, produced (over 15 years) through the collodion wet plate process, both on-site (at the museum) and in-the-field, recording landscapes and people (on expeditions), demonstrated and validated Krefft's expertise to all and sundry. According to Davidson (2017, pp. 16, 57, 68), given the London's scientific elite's widespread prevailing mistrust of the observations and material evidence of the colonial explorers and naturalists, Krefft's images not only provided "incontrovertible photographic evidence" of his claims for a specific item of interest, but also given the extremely wide range of disciplinary mindsets prevailing at the time served as (inclusive) "''
boundary object In sociology and science and technology studies, a boundary object is information, such as specimens, field notes, and maps, used in different ways by different communities ''for collaborative work through scales''. Boundary objects are plastic, in ...
s''": viz., entities that "facilitate an ecological approach to knowledge making and sharing" by "provid ngconnections between different individuals and groups who nevertheless might view them, interpret them, and use them in distinct ways, or for different aims" (p. 10).


Queensland lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri'')

::For Krefft, the ''Ceratodus'' was not just a new species, it also created a unique device and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish and build Krefft's own scientific authority and his reputation as a man-of-science and also put Australia at the centre of scientific thought.Vanessa Finney (2023).


Louis Agassiz and the ''Chimaera''

In 1835, having examined teeth that had been extracted from the
Rhaetian The Rhaetian is the latest age (geology), age of the Triassic period (geology), Period (in geochronology) or the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Triassic system (stratigraphy), System (in chronostratigraphy). It was preceded by the N ...
(latest stage of the
Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
) fossil beds of the
Aust Cliff Aust Cliff () is a 5.3 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest adjacent to the Severn Estuary, near the village of Aust, South Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The Severn Bridge crosses the cliff. Its SSSI designation is due to ...
region of
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...
, the Swiss natural historian
Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...
had identified and described ten different species of a
holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
(or "type specimen"), which he named ''ceratodus latissimus'' ('horned tooth' + 'broadest'), and had supposed based upon the structure of their teeth plates resembling that of a
Port Jackson shark The Port Jackson shark (''Heterodontus portusjacksoni'') is a nocturnal, oviparous (egg laying) type of bullhead shark of the family (biology) , family Bullhead shark , Heterodontidae, found in the coastal region of southern Australia, including ...
that they were a kind of
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
or
ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...
, and from this, he had postulated, belonged to an order of the class of cartilaginous fishes (''
Chondrichthyes Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class of jawed fish that contains the cartilaginous fish or chondrichthyans, which all have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fish'', which have skeleto ...
'') collectively known as ''
Chimaera Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish in the order (biology), order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to B ...
''.


Gerard Krefft, William Forster, and the cartilaginous ''Burnett Salmon'' or ''barramunda''

Over the 1860s, Krefft's regular dinner companion, the pastoralist squatter and former
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
, William Forster, had often spoken of the Queensland fresh-water salmon ''with a
cartilaginous Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...
backbone'', well known to the Queensland squatters as ''Burnett Salmon'' called "salmon" because of its pink, salmon-coloured flesh and its good eating or "''barramunda''" (N.B. not
barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer''), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch (also known as dangri, apahap or siakap) is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Carangiformes. The species is widely distributed in the I ...
). On each occasion, Krefft expressed his view that Forster's claim of the existence of such a salmon was entirely mistaken.


January 1870

In January 1870, Forster presented Krefft with an approx. 3 ft (92 cm) specimen of the Burnett Salmon that had been sent to him orsterby his cousin, William Forster M'Cord. It was the first complete specimen that Krefft had ever seen. From his detailed (and, perhaps, unique to Australia) familiarity with the relevant scientific literature, and from the specimen's unusual teeth, Krefft immediately "understood its enormous significance", and recognized it as being something that "was halfway between ''dead'' (fossilised, like its nearest relatives) and ''alive'' (known to science) and, thus, "a living example of gassiz's''Ceratodus'', a creature, thought to have been like a shark, which had hitherto been known only from fossil teeth": a parallel to the (1994) recognition of the true identity of the ''Wollemi pine'' as a "living fossil". :: The lungfish is now widely recognized as a classic example of Darwin's "living fossils" Huxley (1880, p. 660) noted that, "this wonderful creature c. ''Ceratodus''seems contrived for the illustration of the doctrine of Evolution" and its recognition as such, by the sagacious Krefft, represents a classic example of one of Walpole's '' serendipitous discoveries'': i.e., those made by "accident and sagacity", in that: Krefft immediately announced his discovery in a letter to the Editor of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', published on 18 January 1870 (1870a); and, in doing so, he also named the specimen after William Foster: ''Ceratodus Forsteri''. It is significant that, by announcing his discovery in the pages of a Sydney daily newspaper, rather than in some "learned British journal ... Krefft was not only claiming the lungfish, utwas also staking a claim for Australian scientific independence". At the same time Krefft also made a request for regional settlers to provide observations and specimens of the ''Ceratodus'' for the Australian Museum. Krefft's discovery was specifically mentioned within the comments of Australian Museum trustee Rev.
William Branwhite Clarke William Branwhite Clarke, FRS (2 June 179816 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia. Early life and England Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk, the eldest child of William Clarke, schoolmaster, and h ...
on the mineralogical and geological exhibits at the 1870 Intercolonial Exhibition, held in Sydney; and, moreover, it was of such significance that the Exhibition's report also included a poem, highlighting Krefft's discovery, written by Clarke himself. In November 1889,
Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the fo ...
, the founding Editor of ''Nature'', noted that Krefft's discovery of "the Dipnoous iz., 'having both gills and lungs'fish-like creature ''Ceratodus'' of the Queensland rivers" was " neof the more striking zoological discoveries which come within our irsttwenty years f publication.


Krefft's "Natural History" articles in ''The Sydney Mail''

In relation to Kreff't considerable contributions to "natural history" whilst serving as the Museum's curator, it is important to recognize that, over that time, rather than being disinterested in (or not entirely convinced by) Darwin's views on the progressive development of species, a wide range of influential individuals in Australia were implacably opposed to Darwin, Darwin's theories, and "Darwinism" in general.


George B. Mason and ''The Australian Home Companion and Band of Hope Journal''

The Australian Home Companion and Band of Hope Journal was a fortnightly temperance-oriented journal with a limited circulation (specifically aimed at young people) that only lasted for three years (1859–1861). Over the entire three years of the journal's existence, the wood engraver, George Birkbeck Mason, supplied a regular series of 49 wood-engravings (as "G. B. Mason"), along with brief companion articles (as "G.B.M."), under the title "Australian Natural History", which introduced various Australian animals and birds to its young readers. Mason's first article
on 2 July 1859
was on "''The Ornithorhynchus; or Water Mole of Australia''" (i.e., the
Platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...
), and his last
on 18 May 1861
was on the recently-introduced-to-Australia animal, the
Llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...
.


Krefft and ''The Sydney Mail''

One of Krefft's main objectives, as its curator, was to re-position the Australian Museum as a "forum of people's science" (Moyal, 1986, p. 99). With an enterprise anticipating that of the modern
information scientist The term information scientist developed in the latter part of the twentieth century by Wm. Hovey Smith to describe an individual, usually with a relevant subject degree (such as one in Information and Computer Science - CIS) or high level of subjec ...
, Krefft recognized the economic, social, and educational value of a wider dissemination of an accurate, up-to-date knowledge and understanding of scientific matters (especially Australian natural history) to the emerging colony and its developing community, as well as "teach ngthe interested public more about Australia's environments and animals" (Finney, 2023, p. 35). ::    But what is the good of it? iz., a study of Natural Historypeople frequently ask. Well, the answer is easy enough. The science teaches how to observe facts, and how to speak the truth; it makes us familiar with the habits and
economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
of various animals, and enables us to add to our comfort and to our wealth; it eases our mind, when travelling, to know that beasts of prey and noxious reptiles do not lurk in every bush; it saves us from starvation, because we can always find some creatures which may serve as food and sustain life; it prevents the useless expenditure of money in boring for coal, for instance, where coal cannot be found, or importing animals which are unable to exist in their new home. In fact, the knowledge of Natural History (Botany included) has brought great enterprises, such as Leichhardt's first expedition, to a successful issue; whilst leaders as brave, but less versed in natural sciences, have singularly failed to accomplish their object.
     The principal cause of the death of the lamented Burke and Wills has been ascribed to the want of proper nourishment, and with a knowledge of natural history they would have been able to sustain life a good while longer. They were near water, and food in the shape of turtles, fishes, crayfish, mussels, frogs, and lizards could not have been far off. There are simple means of catching these animals, and natural history teaches where to look for them, and how to obtain them.
    We remember travelling, towards evening, at a funeral pace, far from the nearest station, in a vehicle which could not be moved quicker on account of the stupid driver having omitted to grease the wheels. All hands seemed to be resigned to a night's lodging on the ranges, but one of them was lucky enough to kill a large lizard, and in a moment the frying-pan was out, the lizard's fat rendered down, the wheels greased, and comfortable quarters reached before dark. It was the knowledge of the not very popular science again which saved us, and I shall never forget the astonished face of the driver when he saw what was going on.Gerard Krefft, in his first ''Natural History of New South Wales'' article, 4 March 1871. In the absence of funding for potential museum publications, and in pursuit of a wider dissemination of these scientific matters, it is significant that from March 1871 until June 1874 Krefft contributed more than one hundred and fifty lengthy articles in the "Natural History" section of ''
The Sydney Mail ''The Sydney Mail'' was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938. History ''The Sydney Mail'' was first published on 17 July 1860 by J ...
'' a widely-read weekly magazine published every Saturday by ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' on an extremely wide range of relevant subjects, specifically directed at an educated Australian lay audience; rather than, that is, engaging with his well-informed fellow scientists.


Krefft's Enterprise

In his first article (Krefft, 1871a) reflecting a view that had been expressed a decade earlier by the botanist
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...
Krefft noted that, although "few countries offer such a wide field to the student of nature as Australia", there were very few "handy books for the beginner" available in Sydney, "which has caused, in some measure, the apathy of the people to study our natural products". Moreover, he wrote, because "the most useful books" were little known, and given that many of those were "so expensive that they cannot be purchased, except by the wealthy", he proposed to present a series of articles on Australian natural history, with the hope that their aggregate would eventually be published as a complete work.


Charles Darwin (naturalist)

As part of Krefft's determination to disseminate up-to-date scientific knowledge, as reflected in the professional literature, a number of his ''Natural History'' articles mention Darwin's matter-of-fact observations and opinions as an in-the-field naturalist: including, for instance, comments such as: * "According to Mr. Darwin, arthwormsgive a kind of under tillage to the land, performing the same below ground that the spade does above for the garden, and the plough for arable soil."Krefft (1871d). * " n relation to the ruminants, and in">ruminants.html" ;"title="n relation to the ruminants">n relation to the ruminants, and inspeaking about ten different varieties of oxen, I call attention to a curious breed of South America, of which Mr. Darwin, who first noticed it, remarks ..."Krefft (1873b). * "Mr. Darwin has been quoted [in this article] at great length, because his experience ... fanimals under domestication ... will interest all breeders."Krefft (1873c), etc.


Support of Darwin, Darwinism, and Natural Selection

By July 1873, according to his (12 July 1873) letter to Charles Darwin,Darwin Correspondence Project: Letter no. 8959 (dated approx. 12 July 1873)
it is clear from its content that the letter (with copies of articles (1873d) and (1873e) attached) was written on, or quite soon after, 12 July 1873.
Krefft had become exasperated by the widespread resistance to Darwin's theories and observations (and, indirectly, also to those of Bishop Colenso); an unwillingness which, Krefft observed, was not only driven by the persistent outright misrepresentations of Darwin's works by certain prominent critics (such as Professor McCoy and Bishop Perry), but was also explained by the fact that the preponderance of those in Australia who were opposed to Darwin's "theories" had never read any of Darwin's works and (with no other sources of information to go by) were basing their steadfast adversarial positions entirely upon the supposed authority of others: "if ever there was a season when people flock round those who interpret the faith in which they were brought up, it is the present time, in Australia at least" (Krefft, 12 July 1873).Krefft, 1873e. Krefft wrote of the "dreadful verall... ignorance of even well educated people", and the constant criticisms of Darwin's "theories" that were still being voiced in Melbourne, 13 years after the publication of ''Origins'', by the devout Irish Roman Catholic Professor Frederick McCoy, Professor of Natural Science at the University of Melbourne, and the director of the National Museum of Victoria, and the
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Anglican Bishop of Melbourne Charles Perry, as well as the recent (7 July 1873) well-attended "Noah's Ark" lectures, that had been delivered in Sydney by the Melbourne-based Irish Jesuit, Joseph O'Malley, and chaired by the devout Irish Roman Catholic layman, Justice Peter Faucett of the
Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...
. In his letter to Darwin, noting that he "never meddles with religion", Krefft stated that he deliberately avoided any reference to questions relating to the existence (or not) of the Abrahamic deity in his articles: "Of course I shall not deny the existence of a supreme superintendent or whatever people choose to call the power of nature as yet unknown to us otherwise rather o his "astonishment"religious papers will not like to print my remarks".


July 1873

In his quest to encourage people to read Darwin's works, and to present a summary of the relevant scientific advances in the field (as represented in the professional literature), Krefft published two important "Natural History" articles in July 1873 and, as was his habit, Krefft took the position of presenting the latest views and opinions of others (for the edification of his readers), rather than expressing his own:
"Remarks on New Creations"
on 5 July 1873.
"Remarks on New Hypotheses"
on 12 July 1873.


"Remarks on New Creations"

The first article, centred upon an objective discussion of the current developments in the scientific understanding of
artificial selection Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ...
and
human evolution ''Homo sapiens'' is a distinct species of the hominid family of primates, which also includes all the great apes. Over their evolutionary history, humans gradually developed traits such as Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism, bipedalism, de ...
(contrasted with the supposed 'immutability of species'), only expressing Krefft's personal views towards the end of the article, when speaking of the "poor, ignorant, and superstitious" people, whose artistic representations of angels were "decidedly against the laws of nature".


"Remarks on New Hypotheses"

According to Krefft's postscript to his letter to Darwin, the second article was only published after significant censorship by the editor of the ''Sydney Mail'', George Eld, at the express (and extraordinary) instruction of
John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...
, proprietor of the '' Sydney Mail'', to remove Krefft's favourable references to Darwin and his works according to Krefft, despite being "rather a thorough believer in revealed Religion", Fairfax generally "allow dme to give an opinion now and then as long as do not come it too strong".Darwin Correspondence Project: Letter no. 8959 (from Kreff, dated 8 August 1873)
Consequently, rather than expressing his own views, opinions, and explanations of Darwin's work, as he had intended, three-quarters of Krefft's second article directly refers to the opinions expressed in a recent address, "The Progress of Natural Science During the Last Twenty-Five Years", given at Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), by the University of Breslau's Professor Ferdinand Cohn in late 1872. Krefft's direct quotations included: * "There are three discoveries which, during the last quarter of a century, have entirely changed the position of natural science the
mechanical equivalent of heat In the history of science, the mechanical equivalent of heat states that motion and heat are mutually interchangeable and that in every case, a given amount of work would generate the same amount of heat, provided the work done is totally convert ...
, spectrum analysis, and the Darwinian theories." * "No book of recent times, Dr. thinks, has influenced to such an extent the aspects of modern natural science as Charles Darwin's work ''On the Origin of Species'', the first edition of which appeared in 1859 (the last or sixth edition in January, 1872); for even so late a period was the immutability of species believed in; so long was it accepted as indubitable that all characteristics which belong to any species of plants and animals were transmitted unaltered through all generations, and were under no circumstances changeable; so long did the appearance of a new fauna and flora remain one of the impenetrable mysteries of science."


Post-dismissal

Due to the distractions connected with the last stages of his disputes with the trustees of the Australian Museum, the last item he published whilst still Museum curator was on 27 June 1874. Sixteen weeks later, following his separation from the Museum, he resumed his weekly articles, and went on to publish another thirty-seven "Natural History" articles over the next nine months. Although Krefft produced more than 250,000 words in the more than 180 "Natural History" articles published over that four-year period, his hope of eventually producing an aggregated single work was never realized; no doubt mainly due to his dismissal from office having greatly limited his resources and significantly restricted his capacity to continue his dissemination enterprise.


Dismissal from office

The Trustees controversially dismissed Krefft from his position of Curator in 1874. "The ''
casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...
'', now long forgotten, turned on the allegation that Krefft had mishandled a theft that had occurred in the Museum" (MacLeod, 2009, p. 145). Krefft's position was that the trustees, acting independently of the New South Wales government, had no right to dismiss him. Krefft's assistant curator for the preceding decade,
George Masters George Masters (1837–1912) was a zoologist, active in Australia during the 19th century. Biography Born in Maidstone, England, to Matilda, née Terry, he was trained as a gardener by his father, George Masters, before moving to Sydney. Masters ...
, had resigned in February 1874 in order "to become curator of the growing collection of Sir William Macleay" (Strahan, 1979, p. 135) a collection which Masters continued to curate, once it was transferred to the Macleay Museum at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, until his death in 1912. The Museum trustees, at a special meeting held the day after Krefft's removal from the Museum's premises, appointed the Macleay ''protégé'',
Edward Pierson Ramsay Edward Pierson Ramsay (3 December 1842 – 16 December 1916) was an Australian zoologist who specialised in ornithology. Early life Ramsay was born in Dobroyd Estate, Long Cove, Sydney, and educated at St Mark's Collegiate School, The King's S ...
, to the position of Curator (Strahan, 1979, p. 38), an office that Ramsay held until 1895, when he was succeeded by Robert Etheridge.


Gold theft and its aftermath

Following his return to the Museum on Christmas Eve 1873, Krefft reported to the trustees (who were individually and collectively unaware that any theft had taken place) that he had discovered a robbery of "specimens of gold to the value of £70". The crime was never solved; and the trustees (although eager to do so) were unable to find any evidence of Krefft's complicity in the theft. By this stage, with his accusations that the trustees were using the Museum's resources to augment their own private collections, the "cosmopolitan" Krefft had fallen foul of most of the Trustees, especially
William John Macleay Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, naturalist, zoologist, and herpetologist. Early life Macleay was born at Wick, Caithness, Scotland, second son of Kenneth Macleay of Keiss and h ...
, whose own extensive private collection which included the comprehensive collections he had inherited from his uncle,
Alexander Macleay Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a Scottish-Australian leading member of the Linnean Society, a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Life Mac ...
(1767–1848), and his cousin, William Sharp Macleay (1792–1865) went on to become the foundation of the collections of the Macleay Museum at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
in the 1890s.


Museum closure

In the process of the escalating dispute between the trustees and Krefft, the Museum was closed to the public, by order of the trustees, for eleven weeks (from 4 July to 23 September 1874), At the same time, a police guard was stationed at the Museum, and Krefft was denied access to all parts of the Museum (including the cellar within which the fuel for his much-needed-in-the-winter fires was stored), except his private residence. Krefft had been suspended following an investigation by a subcommittee of trustees
Christopher Rolleston Christopher Rolleston (27 July 1817 – 9 April 1888) was an English-born colonial public servant in Australia. Rolleston was born 27 July 1817 in Watnall, Nottinghamshire, the second son of Rev. John Rolleston and Elizabeth, . A prominent ...
, Auditor-General of New South Wales, was appointed chairman, and
Archibald Liversidge Archibald Liversidge Royal Society#Fellows, FRS FRSE FRSNSW LLD (17 November 1847 – 26 September 1927) was an English-born chemist and a co-founder of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. Early life Liversidge was bor ...
, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Sydney, Edward Smith Hill, wine and spirit merchant, and
Haynes Gibbes Alleyne Haynes Gibbes Alleyne (born Saint James, Barbados 14 October 1813, died Sydney, 9 September 1882) was a physician and zoologist who practised in Australia and who is well known for his studies on the fishes of Australia. Alleyne was born on 14 O ...
, of the New South Wales Medical Board who, having examined a number of witnesses, found some of the charges against Krefft sustained, and also claim to have discovered "a number of
ther Ther may refer to: * ''Thér.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Irénée Thériot (1859–1947), French bryologist * Agroha Mound, archaeological site in Agroha, Hisar district, India * Therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempte ...
grave irregularities"."The Australian Museum"
''The (Sydney) Empire'', (24 September 1874), p. 4.
Krefft had been unable to meet the trustees' request to appear before them on the Thursday (2 July 1874) because he was unwell (he had supplied a medical certificate to that effect), and that his wife, whose difficult confinement had been attended by George Bennett, had just delivered a stillborn child (on 2 July 1874), a daughter, after two days of intense labour (with Krefft by her side the whole time) in their residence over the Museum.


Eviction from his residential quarters

On 1 September 1874, three weeks before Krefft's forceful eviction, long-term trustees George Bennett (who, at the time, was attending Mrs Krefft's confinement) and
William Branwhite Clarke William Branwhite Clarke, FRS (2 June 179816 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia. Early life and England Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk, the eldest child of William Clarke, schoolmaster, and h ...
both resigned "as a consequence of the steps recently taken by the trustees of the Museum with respect to the Curator". On 21 September 1874, Krefft and his family were physically removed from his Museum apartment within which he had barricaded himself, by the "diminutive bailiff" Charles H. Peart i.e., at least "diminutive" when compared with Krefft, "a man of herculean stature" in the company of one of the trustees, Edward Smith Hill, and assisted by two known prizefighters (identified as Kelly and Williams) who had been expressly hired (from Kiss's Horse Bazaar) to effect the eviction,Law: Jury Court: Sittings for Trial of Causes: Krefft v. Hill
''The (Sydney) Empire'', (19 November 1874), p. 4.
because the Police refused to act, on the grounds that Krefft had not been dismissed by the Government, only by the trustees (and, therefore, it was a civil (and not a police) matter). At the time of his eviction, Krefft was forcibly carried out of his apartment, refusing to move from his chair, and was unceremoniously thrown out into Macquarie street by the prizefighters. The press report of Krefft's subsequent (November 1874) damages action noted that, "throughout the affair reffthad denied the trustees' power to dismiss him; and, on the trustees appealing to the Government, the Colonial Secretary iz., Henry Parkes">Henry_Parkes.html" ;"title="iz., Henry Parkes">iz., Henry Parkeshad cautiously told the trustees that, as they thought it expedient to expel refftwithout first seeking the advice of the Government, no assistance could be afforded". At the time of Krefft's forcible eviction, all of his possessions were seized; and, almost two years after the eviction Krefft was still complaining that "my own and my wife's personal property, my books, specimens, scientific instruments, medals and testimonials", all of which had been "illegally taken possession of by the trustees", were still to be returned to him.


Trustee's allegations

::The Trustees have to express their deep regret that circumstances have occurred during the past year which disclosed an utter want of care and attention in the discharge of his duties on the part of Mr. Krefft, their curator and secretary, and which resulted, after repeated acts of disobedience to the lawful orders of the trustees, in the removal of that officer from his position, and in the closing of the institution to the public for a short period.Trustees' justification for Krefft's dismissal in their Report to the NSW Parliament for the year 1874."Australian Museum"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (17 April 1875), p. 9.
The trustees two members of which, William Macleay and Captain Arthur Onslow (although both were Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly">Legislative Assembly they were not trustees, ''ex officio'', but had been elected to their trustee position), "manifested great animus towards Mr. Krefft, and used their utmost exertions to cast obloquy upon that gentleman" responded by accusing Krefft of drunkenness, falsifying attendance records, and wilfully destroying a fossil sent to the Museum by one of its trustees, George Bennett, for its preparation to be sent on the
Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkabl ...
at the British Museum. This entirely false allegation was completely (and independently) refuted by a letter from Owen, that Bennett had received in late June 1874, in which Owen "acknowledged receiving [the fossil specimen] in good order". Krefft was even accused of condoning the sale of Pornography, pornographic postcards. The (fifty to sixty) postcards in question, of which the trustees claimed in their justification of Krefft's dismissal, "some of which were of the most indecent character" (and had been "seen" by one of the trustees "in the workshop of the Museum") which, rather than being salacious items were, in fact, standard '' ethnographic photographs'' taken in the field had been copied, entirely without Krefft's knowledge or consent, by museum employees Robert and Henry Barnes.


Legal actions

::
n these matters N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
I am only one against many and you know that law is expensive and only made for the rich. Had I been an Englishman by birth, had I humbugged people, attended at Church, and spread knowledge on the principle that the God of Moses and of the Prophets made "little apples", I would have gained the day, but sa true believer in
our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...
theory of I am hounded down in this aradiseof Bushrangers' of rogues, Cheats, and Vagabonds".Krefft to Charles Darwin (22 October 1874), seeking Darwin's support. In November 1874 Krefft brought an action to recover £2,000 damages for trespass and assault against the trustee, Edward Smith Hill, who was physically present at, and had directed his eviction. The trial lasted four days, and Justice Alfred Cheeke, the presiding judge "ruled that
ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...
and his co-trustees had acted illegally", and that, "as the trustees had no power to appoint a Curator, they clearly had no power to remove him from office, or expel him from the Museum premises", and, finally, that " ecausethe Curator was an officer receiving his salary from the Government, ... he could not be removed from the premises without the sanction of the Government". "The jury
f four F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
after a short deliberation, found a verdict for the plaintiff, with £250 for damages". In September 1875, Hill applied to the NSW Supreme Court for a retrial, and his motion for a new trial was heard by Justices John Fletcher Hargrave and Peter (Noah's Ark) Faucett over three days (7 to 9 September). Justice Hargrave, noting that the trustees' behaviour was "altogether illegal, harsh, and unjust", and that they had acted "without affording refftthe slightest means of vindicating himself personally, or his scientific or official character as Curator of our Museum" was of the opinion that a new trial should be refused. In contrast, Justice Faucett, noting that Krefft " adtaken an altogether erroneous view of his position and of the powers of the trustees; and e, Faucett wasclearly of heopinion that his conduct justified his dismissal", was of the opinion that a new trial should be granted. Given these conflicting opinions, the court decided that Hill's action could not be heard. Hill's counsel, Sir William Manning, immediately applied for a rehearing of the action before the full court of three judges. The application was unanimously refused by Justices Martin, Faucett, and Hargrave, on the grounds that, because the Chief Justice, Sir James Martin, was a Museum trustee ''ex officio'' and, therefore, could not sit on the Bench, the opinions of the remaining two members, Faucett and Hargrave, had already been clearly expressed. "When the courts awarded Krefft damages
n 1874 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
the trustees refused to pay up, though they had plundered the museum's coffers to recoup their own legal costs" (Macinnes, 2012, p. 114). In November 1877 Krefft sued the trustees for damages, and for the value of his medals and property detained by them, and was awarded £925. They offered to return his belongings with only £200.


Legislative proceedings

In 1876, with John Robertson (rather than Henry Parkes) as Premier, the New South Wales parliament passed a vote of £1,000 to be applied in satisfaction of Krefft's claims. The Government refused to pay unless Krefft renounced all other claims, which Krefft refused to do. In December 1876 Krefft failed in his attempt to have the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
In Banco force the Colonial Treasurer to make the legislated-for payment.


Insolvency

He was declared insolvent in 1880.


Death

Krefft failed to find new employment after his dismissal; "his reforms and discoveries were recognised by many of his contemporaries and remain on the record as important contributions to imperial and global science", and " isremoval resulted in the impoverishment of the Natural sciences in New South Wales until the rise of inter-colonial science in the 1890s". His subsequent financial difficulties meant that he could not leave Australia, and "many of his research papers remained unpublished and his collections were damaged and muddled" (Rutledge & Whitley, 1974). He died in Sydney, on 18 February 1881, at the age of 51, from congestion of the lungs, "after suffering for some months past from
dropsy Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...
and
Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...
", and was buried in the churchyard of St Jude's Church of England,
Randwick Randwick is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government ar ...
.


Research

* 1864: Published a ''Catalogue of Mammalia in the Collection of the Australian Museum''. * 1865: Published the pamphlet, ''Two Papers on the Vertebrata of the Lower Murray and Darling and on the Snakes of Sydney'' (1865a) the two papers had been read before the Philosophical Society of New South Wales.
The pamphlet also included a third paper on the Aborigines of the Lower Murray and Darling (i.e., Krefft, 1865b). * 1869: ''The Snakes of Australia'' was published, which was the first definitive work on this group of Australian animals.
In the absence of funds for its publication, Krefft eventually financed the publication himself, and it was published by the Government Printer. Krefft and his publication were praised at the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870 and the Scott sisters,
Helena Scott Helena "Nellie" Scott (1832 Sydney – 1910) was an Australian illustrator of natural history. She was also a botanical collector who collected a number of type specimens. She and her sister Harriet Morgan (1830–1907) were the daughters of ...
(a.k.a. Helena Forde) and Harriet Scott (a.k.a. Harriet Morgan), received a Very High Commendation for the striking artwork that accompanied Krefft's text. * 1870: Published the first scientific description of the
Queensland lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...
(Krefft, 1870a, 1870b, 1870c, 1870d, 1870e). * 1871: Published ''The Mammals of Australia'', which also included plates by the Scott sisters. * 1872: Krefft was one of the few scientists supporting
Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...
in Australia during 1870s; and, as of May 1872, became a correspondent of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
see, for instance, Darwin's acknowledgement, in ''
The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms #REDIRECT The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms {{R from other capitalisation ...
'' (Darwin, 1881, p. 122) of Krefft's contribution to his investigations. * 1872: On 30 December 1872, Krefft wrote to Charles Darwin (1872d); and, based upon Krefft's direct, in-the-field experience as an anthropological linguist, informed Darwin that "Australian natives" could, indeed, count far beyond the number four thus correcting Darwin's erroneous assertion that they could not (in ''Descent'' (1871a, p. 62), with Darwin apparently following
Ludwig Büchner Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig Büchner (; ; 29 March 1824 – 30 April 1899) was a German philosopher, physiologist and physician who became one of the exponents of 19th-century scientific materialism. Biography Büchner was born at Darmstadt ...
. * 1873: Catalogue of the ''Minerals and Rocks in the Collection of the Australian Museum'' was published. * 1877: Began publishing ''Krefft's Nature in Australia'' see
item in the collection of the State Library of New South Wales
a popular journal for the discussion of questions of natural history, but it soon ceased publication.


Learned Society affiliations; awards, etc.


Affiliations

Krefft was: * A
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the Linnean Society in London.Heaton (1879), p. 108. * A Master and Honorary Member of the ''Freies Deutsches Hochstift'' (Free German Foundation) at
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
am Main. * A Member of the ''Société Humanitaire et Scientifique du Sud-Ouest de la France'' (Humanitarian and Scientific Society of the Southwest of France), the ''Imperial and Royal Geological Society of Austro-Hungary'' in Vienna, the ''Royal Geographical Society of Dresden'';
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 ...
, and the
Royal Society of Tasmania The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission was the advancement of knowledge. The work of the Royal Society of Tasmania includes: * Promoting Tasmanian hist ...
. * A
Corresponding Member The corresponding member is one of the possible membership types in some organizations, especially in the learned societies and scientific academies. This title existed or exist in the Soviet Union, GDR, Polish People's Republic, Czechoslovak S ...
of the
Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
, the ''Société Humanitaire et Scientifique de Sud-Ouest de France'' of
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, the
Senckenberg Nature Research Society The Senckenberg Nature Research Society (, until 2008 ''Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft'') is a German scholarly society with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Overview Its purpose is to conduct research in the natural sciences a ...
of
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
am Main, and the "Society of Scientific Naturalists in Hamburg".


Awards

* In 1869, the Cross of the
Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...
was conferred upon Krefft by
Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...
, "in token of his Majesty's appreciation of Mr. Krefft's services in the cause of science". * He received a gold medal from the Government of New South Wales "for services rendered". * He held "a silver medal for exhibits from the Emperor of the French, and ... various other silver and bronze medals awarded in the colony". * He was awarded "the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy".


Legacy

His natural science expertise was often sought on unusual matters. In May 1870, for instance, he appeared as an ''
expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
'' in a case of
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
(prosecution, J.E. Salomons; defence, W.B. Dalley) wherein Krefft testified that a set of exhumed bones were from "a human skeleton". Apart from his scientific contributions, Krefft is remembered for the demonstration he provided at the Australian Museum, on 14 February 1868, for Prince Alfred at the time, the Duke of Edinburg and, later, the
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...
involving Henry Parkes' pet mongoose killing several snakes. The mongoose was subsequently presented to the Prince who took it with him when he left Australia on the HMS ''Galatea'' in May 1868. He is also renowned for having eaten what may well have been the last extant specimens of the (now extinct) Eastern Chæropus (''Chæropus occidentalis'') then also known as ''Chaeropus ecaudatus (Gould)'' whilst on the (1856/1857) Blandowski Expedition: "They are very good eating, and I am sorry to confess that my appetite more than once over-ruled my love for science" (Krefft, 1865a, p. 14). ::Krefft ... is the only person known to have kept the pig-footed bandicoot ''Chaeropus ecaudatus'' in captivity and his observations iz., at Krefft, 1865a, pp. 12–14are virtually the only natural history notes on this animal. Krefft's illustration of ''C. ecaudatus'' far surpasses the illustration presented in Gould's ''Mammals of Australia'' in capturing the essence of the animal, not least because it was drawn from life rather than from a stuffed skin.Menkhorst (2009), p. 65. * In 1870 Krefft published the first scientific description of the
Queensland lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...
(Krefft, 1870a, 1870b, 1870c, 1870d, 1870e). * He is honoured in the
scientific names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...
of two reptiles
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Australia: ** '' Dwarf crowned snake (Cacophis krefftii, )'', a species of
venomous snake ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...
. ** '' Emydura macquarii krefftii'', a subspecies of freshwater turtle. * Other fauna also named after him: ** Freshwater longtom (''Strongylura krefftii''), is a species of
euryhaline Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the short-finned molly, '' Poecilia sphenops'', which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water. The green crab ('' Carcinus m ...
needlefish Needlefish (family Belonidae) or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments (e.g., ...
. ** Krefft's darter (''Telicota augias krefftii''), a
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
of the family
Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...
, found in the north of Australia. **
Krefft's glider Krefft's glider (''Petaurus notatus'') is a species of Arboreal locomotion, arboreal nocturnal gliding possum, a type of small marsupial. It is native to most of eastern mainland Australia and has been introduced to Tasmania. Populations of ''Pet ...
(''Petaurus notatus''), whose
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...
Krefft collected, was also named after him.Cremona, et al. (2020). **
Long-tailed myna The long-tailed myna (''Mino kreffti'') is a member of the starling family. It is native to the Bismarck and Solomon archipelagos. It resembles the yellow-faced myna, and the two were formerly considered conspecific. Its binomial name commemora ...
(''Mino kreffti''), a member of the
starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, know ...
family. **
Northern hairy-nosed wombat The northern hairy-nosed wombat (''Lasiorhinus krefftii'') or yaminon is one of three extant species of Australian marsupials known as wombats. It is one of the rarest land mammals in the world and is critically endangered. Its historical range ...
(''Lasiorhinus krefftii''). ** San Cristobal treefrog (''Papurana kreffti''). ** Snub-nosed garfish (''Arrhamphus krefftii'') * The mountain group of Krefftberget in the extreme southwestern part of
Barents Island Barents may refer to: *René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer * Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline * Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part o ...
,
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
, Norway, was named after him in August 1870, by the Austrian explorer
Theodor von Heuglin Martin Theodor von Heuglin (20 March 1824, Hirschlanden, Württemberg5 November 1876), was a German explorer and ornithologist. Biography Heuglin was born in Hirschlanden (now part of Ditzingen) in Württemberg. His father was a Protestant past ...
. * Krefft Street, in
Florey, Australian Capital Territory Florey () is a residential suburb of the Belconnen district of Canberra, located within the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Florey was gazetted on 5 August 1975 and most houses were constructed in the mid-1980s. The suburb itself is n ...
is named after him."Schedule 'B' ''National Memorials Ordinance'' 1928–1972: Street Nomenclature: List of Additional Names with Reference to Origin: Division of Florey: Krefft Street"
''Commonwealth of Australia Gazette'', No.S24, (8 February 1978), p. 19.


See also

* :Taxa named by Gerard Krefft * Darwin's category of "Living Fossils"


Notes


References


Krefft's publications (Books, monographs, pamphlets, in chronological order)


''Series 02: Gerard Krefft album of watercolour drawings, ca. 1857–1858, 1861, 1866''
collection of the State Library of New South Wales. * Krefft, G. (1858a)
''Catalogue of all Specimens of Natural History collected by Mr Blandowski's Party during an Expedition to the Lower Murray in 1857''
Melbourne: National Museum of Victoria. * Krefft, Gerard (1864)
''Catalogue of Mammalia in the Collection of the Australian Museum''
Sydney: Australian Museum. ** Krefft, Gerard (1864), "Directions for the Preservation of Specimens", pp. 134–135 in Gerard Krefft, ''Catalogue of Mammalia in the Collection of the Australian Museum'', Sydney: Australian Museum. * Krefft, G. (1865a)
''Two Papers on the Vertebrata of the Lower Murray and Darling; and on the Snakes of Sydney, Read before the Philosophical Society of New South Wales, 10th September, 1862''
Sydney: Philosophical Society of New South Wales. * Krefft, G (1866)
(Mr. Krefft's Report on the Fossil Remains found in the Caves of Wellington Valley, made to the Honorable T. A. Murray, President of the Legislative Council of New South Wales)
''The Sydney Mail'', (22 December 1866), p. 2. * Krefft, G. (1868c)
''Notes on the Fauna of Tasmania''
Sydney: F. White.
It was also reprinted as a
Appendix (at pp. 89–105) to the ''Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for 1868''
* Krefft, G. (1869)
''The Snakes of Australia: An Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of all known Species''
Sydney: The Government Printer. * Krefft, G. (1870f)
''Guide to the Australian Fossil Remains, Exhibited by the Trustees of The Australian Museum, and Arranged and Named by Gerard Krefft, F.L.S., Curator and Secretary''
Sydney: F. White, Government Printer. * Krefft, Gerard, Forde, Helena & Scott, Harriett (1871f)
''The Mammals of Australia: With a Short Account of all the Species hitherto described, by Gerard Krefft; Illustrated by Harriett Scott and Helena Forde for the Council of Education''
T. Richards, Government Printer. * Krefft, G. (1872a),
On Australian Entozoa, Including a List of the Species Hitherto Recorded, and Descriptions of Sixteen New Tape-worm Colonies: with Figures of Each Drawn from Fresh Specimens
', Sydney: J. Reading and Company: reprint of Krefft (1871b). * Krefft, G. (1873a)
''Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks in the Collection of the Australian Museum''
Sydney: Thomas Richards. * Krefft, G. (1876), ''A Few Letters and Testimonials from distinguished Men of Science, addressed to Mr. Gerard Krefft, Curator and Secretary of the Australian Museum, from 1858 to 1874'', Sydney: G. Krefft. a
SLNSW
pp. 105–108. * Krefft (1877), ''Krefft v. The Australian Museum Corporation: Mr Krefft's last reply to the Crown Solicitor, who defended this case on behalf of the Government''], Sydney: J.A. Engel. a
SLNSW
pp. 122–124.


Krefft's contributions to academic journals, newspapers, etc.

Krefft was a member of many scientific societies, and contributed papers to the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' and other scientific and popular journals, some of which were also printed separately as pamphlets. For a comprehensive, chronological list (of more than 150 of his contributions), see Whitley (1958, pp. 25–34), with some later additions and modifications to that list at Whitley (1969, pp. 39–42); also, see Mahoney & Ride (1975, pp. 197–215).
Krefft, G. (1858b), "A Few Remarks on the Habit and Economy of the Brown-Capped Pomatorhinus (''P. ruficeps, Hartlaub'')"
''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', Vol. 26, (22 June 1858), pp. 352–353.
Krefft, G. (1858c), "To the Editor of ''The Argus'': Lower Murray Expedition", ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 13 October 1858), p. 1.

Krefft, G. (1858d), "Silk from Victoria (Reprint of a letter to ''the Times'')", ''The Mount Alexander Mail'', (Friday, 12 November 1858), p. 7.
* Krefft, G. (10 September 1862)
"On the Vertebrated Animals of the Lower Murray and Darling, their Habits, Economy, and Geographical Distribution"
''Transactions of the Philosophical Society of New South Wales 1862–1865'', pp. 1–33. * Krefft, Johann Ludwig Gerard (1865b)
"On the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines of the lower Murray and Darling"
''Transactions of the Philosophical Society of New South Wales, 1862–1865'', pp. 357–374. * Krefft, G. (1868a)
"Description of a new species of Thylacine (''Thylacinus breviceps'')
''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', Vol.2, No. 10, pp. 296–297. * Krefft, G. (1868b)
"The Improvements Effected in Modern Museums in Europe and Australia"
''Transactions of the Royal Society of New South Wales for the Year 1868 '', (5 August 1868), pp. 15–25. * Krefft, G. (1870a)
"To the Editor of the Herald"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (18 January 1870), p. 5. * Krefft, G (1870b)
"To the Editor of the Herald"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (28 January 1870), p. 3. * Krefft, G. (1870c)
"Description of a gigantic Amphibian allied to the Genus ''Lepidosiren'', from the Wide-Bay district, Queensland"
''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', No. 16, (28 April 1870), pp. 221–224. * Krefft, G. (1870d)
"Ceratodus Forsteri (Letter to the Editor)"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (9 June 1870), p. 3. * Krefft, G. (1870e)
"The Ceratodus Forsteri (Letter to The Editor)"
''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', Vol.3, No. 58, (8 December 1870), pp. 107–108. * Krefft, G. (1871a)
"Natural History: The Natural History of New South Wales"
''The Sydney Mail'', (4 March 1871), p. 22. * Krefft, G. (1871b)
"On Australian Entozoa, with Descriptions of New Species"
''Transactions of the Entomological Society of New South Wales'', Vol.2, (3 July 1871), pp. 206–232. * Krefft, G. (1871c)
"Natural History: The Natural History of New South Wales"
''The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser'', (29 July 1871), p. 697. * Krefft, G. (1871d)
"Natural History: The Natural History of New South Wales"
''The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser'', (9 September 1871), p. 871. * Krefft, G. (1871e)
"Natural History: The Natural History of New South Wales"
''The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser'', (18 November 1871), p. 1211. * Krefft, G. (1872b)
"A Cuvierian Principle in Palæeontology, tested by evidences of an extinct Leonine Marsupial ("''Thylacoleo carnifex''"), by Professor Owen, F.R.S., D.C.L., Foreign Associate of the Institute of France. (From the ''Sydney Mail'', May 18, 1872, with corrections and the illustrations communicated by the Author.)
, ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', Vol.10, No. 57, (September 1872), pp. 169–182. * Krefft, G. (1872c)
"To the Editor of the Sydney Mail (on 'Fabulous Australian Animals')"
''The Sydney Mail'', (5 October 1872), p. 422. * Krefft, G. (1872d)
(Letter to Charles Darwin, dated 30 December 1872)
''Darwin Correspondence Project''. * Krefft, G. (1873b)
"Natural History"
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External links


Gerard Krefft in the National Library of Australia's collection
*
Dear Mr Darwin Evolution, ''Museullaneous'', (Australian Museum), 28 May 2014.

1860s: A Naturalist's Legacy, ''Museullaneous'', (Australian Museum), 28 April 2017.

Brodie, Megan (23 September 2022), "Baby, I was born this way", ''mednews.com.au''
Megan Brodie is Gerard Krefft's great, great-granddaughter.
Conolly, Pauline (13 May 2021), "Curator Krefft out the door!", ''paulineconolly.com''.

Smith, Belinda (22 October 2022), "Australian Museum curator Gerard Krefft's ill-fated fight against the creationist establishment", ''ABC News''.

Watson, Joey & Street, Julie (7 June 2019), "These early black-and-white science photographs showed Australian animals to the world", ''ABC News''.

Wooley, Charles & McKay, Kim (26 March 2018), "Treasures podcast, episode 3: Charles Darwin and the curator's chair", ''Museullaneous'', (Australian Museum).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krefft, Gerard 1830 births 1881 deaths Colony of New South Wales people 19th-century Australian public servants 19th-century Australian scientists Australian curators Australian ichthyologists Australian naturalists Australian paleontologists Australian zoologists Critics of creationism Directors of museums in Australia Explorers of Australia Fellows of the Linnean Society of London German emigrants to Australia People from the Duchy of Brunswick Australian scientific illustrators 19th-century Australian illustrators Scientists from Braunschweig