Sarah Brooks (1850–1928) was an English-born botanical collector who collected many specimens in Western Australia.
Sarah Theresa Brooks was born on 19 September 1850, on board the ship ''Harpley'', at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymout ...
, England, before sailing to Australia., She was the second child and only daughter of Henry Brooks and his wife Emily Donovan. The family migrated to Australia in January 1851 and settled in the
Geelong
Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...
area, where a relative Thomas Edols resided. Henry Brooks died shortly after their arrival in Australia.
The Brooks family resided in Victoria until 1873, when Sarah's brother, John moved to
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...
, to pursue an opportunity to own land, and she and her mother followed shortly after in 1874. They lived in an isolated location and grazed sheep. John Brooks lived on Lynburn Station near Thomas River, followed by Marlburnup Station near Point Malcolm. From 1877, the family lived at
Israelite Bay
Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia.
Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Gr ...
, near Esperance.
Botanical work
It was during this time that Sarah Brooks responded to an advertisement in the West Australian newspaper for people to collect botanical specimens for Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller. Brooks had had a good education, could draw and speak three languages. She collected plant specimens from Israelite Bay between 1883 and 1893, and from various locations in Western Australia including Hampton Range (1890), Mt Ragged (1886), Pine Hill, Balbinia and the edge of the
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to i ...
. She also collected algae and fungi for
Jacob Georg Agardh
Jacob Georg Agardh (8 December 1813 in Lund, Sweden – 17 January 1901 in Lund, Sweden) was a Swedish botanist, phycologist, and taxonomist.
He was the son of Carl Adolph Agardh, and from 1854 until 1879 was professor of botany at Lund Univer ...
of
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Mueller died in 1896, whereupon her collecting ceased. Her skill at acquiring these specimens was used to encourage other Western Australian women to pursue this vocation.
Sarah Brooks eventually settled at Balbinia Station near Esperance in 1898, after her house at Israelite Bay burned down. There she shared a house with her mother and brother, and was the local telegraph operator.
Brooks died in
Norseman
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
, Western Australia, on 23 September 1928. She did not marry. She was survived by her brother, John.
Some of the plants that Brooks collected were named for her by Mueller. They include '' Scaevola brookeana'' F.Muell. (1884) and '' Hakea brookeana'' F.Muell. (1886). Her brother also collected specimens, which are stored in New South Wales and Western Australian collections.