expedition down the Lachlan river, and oji his return he ac- 

 companied Captain Philip Parker King in his four voyages 

 of survey on the north and north-western coasts of New Hol- 

 land. In these voyages he made some interesting collections. 

 Mr. Cunningham afterwards visited New Zealand, Van Die- 

 men's Land, and Norfolk Island, and also took several jour- 

 nies through the Liverpool Plain district and the Moreton 

 Bay country, the whole of which were equally fruitful in a 

 botanical as well as in a geographical point of view, Mr. Cun- 

 ningham being the original discoverer of the pass into the 

 Liverpool Plains, and also connecting the Moreton Bay coun- 

 try with the colony of Sydney. 



" In 1830 Mr. Cunningham returned to England after 

 an absence of seventeen years, and on the unfortunate death 

 of his brother Mr. R. Cunningham, who was killed by the 

 natives while with Major Sir T. L. Mitchell's expedition to 

 the Darling River, he accepted the appointment of Colonial 

 Botanist, which his brother had held, and returned to Aus- 

 tralia in 1837- The situation not affording him those oppor- 

 tunities of research that he had anticipated, he resigned it at 

 the end of the year, and in May, 1838, embarked for New 

 Zealand, where he remained till October, when he returned 

 to Sydney in a very debilitated state of health, from his con- 

 stant exposure to the rains of that climate during the winter 

 season. From that time his constitution continued gradually 

 to break up, till death relieved him of his sufferings." 



In this gentleman both Geography and Botany have sus- 

 tained a real loss ; for he w as an intelligent and most indus- 

 trious traveller, and an excellent practical Botanist. How 

 little he regarded posthumous fame is seen by the fewness of 

 his published works, a brief sketch of the Flora of New 

 Zealand being the only systematical account of his Botanical 

 discoveries printed during his life ; how much he has done to 

 merit the grateful remembrance of posterity is well known to 

 all his scientific friends. It was always a subject of extreme 

 regret with him that the large collection of Brazilian plants 

 made by him in the earlier part of his career should never 

 have been either published or distributed among Botanists, 

 but he had no control over their disposal, which rested with 

 other persons. Of the Australian collections however, which 

 were his private property, the use was most liberal, and many 

 are the herbaria, the richest part of whose New Holland 



