Norman Vyner Fletcher (1867 – 17 December 1889) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

arts graduate and law clerk who was notable as a

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

researching

eucalypts Eucalypt is any woody plant with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyncarpia'', '' E ...

. Although his early death cut short his research he is listed as an Australian plant collector and Illustrator of note by the

Australian National Herbarium The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

Birth and education

Fletcher was born in

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

, the youngest child of Kate (née Green) and

Joseph Horner Fletcher Joseph Horner Fletcher (1 October 1823 – 30 June 1890) was a West Indies-born Methodist minister of English descent and was the founding Principal of Wesley College, Auckland and the second President of Newington College, Sydney. He was elect ...

(1823–1890). His father was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and the

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

at the time of his birth. He was educated at Newington, both at

Newington House Newington House is a historic house in Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia and is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. The house and chapel are situated on the southern ...

on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

and later at

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

, and won the Schofield Scholarship as Dux in 1883. In 1885 he went up to 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 ...

and graduated as a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1888. Upon graduation Fletcher became an articled law clerk.

Botanist

In the early 1880s, Fletcher came under the influence of two noted scientists and teachers at Newington — his brother,

Joseph James Fletcher Joseph James Fletcher (7 January 1850 – 15 May 1926) was an Australian biologist, winner of the 1921 Clarke Medal. Fletcher was born at Auckland, New Zealand the son of the Joseph Horner Fletcher, Rev Joseph Horner Fletcher, a Methodism, Met ...

, and the future curator of the Technological Museum,

Richard Thomas Baker Richard Thomas Baker (1 December 1854 – 14 July 1941) was an Australian economic Botany, botanist, museum curator and educator. Early life Baker was born in Woolwich, England, son of Richard Thomas Baker, a blacksmith, and his wife Sarah, née ...

. This led to his interest in botany. and in particular eucalypts, as both his mentors were experts in this field. He is described as a promising young botanist with a keen interest in eucalypts in ''Botanists of the eucalypts: short biographies of people who have named eucalypts, whose names have been given to species or who have collected type material''.

Death

He was taken ill at Stanmore in early December 1889 and a fortnight later died while his father was detained in Brisbane due to his own ill-health. Fletcher is buried in the Old Wesleyan section of

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

.Australian Cemetery Index
Retrieved 26 June 2014. He was survived by his parents, two sisters and three brothers, including William Horner Fletcher.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Norman Vyner 1867 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Australian botanists People educated at Newington College University of Sydney alumni Australian Methodists Colony of New South Wales people