MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



DEATH OP MR. ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 



It is my sad duty to commence the present year by an- 

 nouncing the death of this distinguished individual, the par- 

 ticulars of which are given as follows in the Athenaeum 

 Journal of the 14th of December, 1839 : — 



" Letters from Australia announce the death of Mr. Allan 

 Cunningham, on the 27th of June last. *' His health," says 

 Capt. King, R.N., in a letter to the Secretary of the Geogra- 

 phical Society, " received a severe shock in New Zealand, and 

 ever since he has been rapidly declining. Two hours before his 

 death, — having been inaudible all day, — I told him that the 

 Governor had received a letter from Sir Gordon Bremer, giv- 

 ing a favourable report of the new colony at Port Essington, 

 when in a moment his eye glistened, and in a rapid and audible 

 voice he said, * Well, did they go inland ?' I told him * not 

 far.* He then fell off again, and scarcely said any thing 

 more. He died calmly and without a sigh." [We are in- 

 debted to a correspondent for the following particulars. 3 



" Mr. Cunningham was in the 48th year of his age, having 

 passed twenty-five years in active scientific researches in Brazil, 

 and in New Holland and the neighbouring islands. In 1814, 

 Mr. Cunningham received the appointment of Botanical Col- 

 lector to the Royal Gardens at Kew, left England in company 

 with Mr. Bowie for Rio, having, through the influence of the 

 late Sir Joseph Banks, obtained permission from the Portu- 

 guese government to travel into the interior. The travellers 

 reached as far as St. Paul's, where they remained some time, 

 and made many valuable collections, which Were transmitted 

 to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. After a residence of 

 two years in Brazil, Mr. Cunningham parted from his com- 

 panion (who went to the Cape of Good Hope) and embarked 

 on board a vessel for Sydney, where he arrived in I8I7. He 

 shortly after joined Mr. Oxley, the surveyor-general, on his 



A. — January, 1840. ' a 



