Of German origin Ferdinand von Mueller migrated to Australia in 1847. Government Botanist of
Victoria for 43 years until his death in 1896 he was Australia's greatest scientist of the
19th century - a major contributor to international science an intrepid explorer of parts of
Australia previously unknown to Europeans and a dominant figure in the scientific and
intellectual life of his adopted country. Throughout his working life Mueller kept up an
enormous correspondence. Large numbers of letters by or to him have been located throughout the
world and edited for publication. These constitute a major new research tool for both
Australian historians and historians of science. They are also of fundamental importance to
Australian taxonomic botany for Mueller introduced vast numbers of Australian plants to
western science. This is the third and final volume of Mueller's selected correspondence. It
covers the last two decades of his life - his most productive period from a scientific point of
view - including his work as Government Botanist of Victoria his multifarious contributions to
taxonomy biogeography and economic botany his engagement with the exploration of inland
Australia New Guinea and Antarctica his manifold links with international science and his
evolving personal circumstances as one of the leading citizens of his adopted country. This
volume contains a substantial historical introduction and a further extension of the editorial
apparatus developed in previous volumes.
