52 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD AKROEETTM [vol. tit 



cleaning the Domain. The Gardens became a popular resort and on 

 the 19th of December, 1832, Governor Arthur directed that they be 

 closed on Sunday, the superintendent having represented "the extreme 

 inconvenience and injury which arises from the great number of persons 

 who resort there on the Sundays." The expenditure during Governor 

 Arthur's term of office was about £300 a year but it increased rapidly 

 and in 1842 was over £800. This seems to have disturbed the authorities 

 in London and in 1843 the Secretary of State informed the Governor, 

 Sir Eardley Wilmit, that the gardens were no longer to be maintained 

 at the public expense. An arrangement was made under which on 

 October 14th, 1843, the Gardens were placed under the management of 

 the newly organized "Botanical and Horticultural Society of Van Die- 

 mens's Land," the Government assisting with a small, annual grant of 

 money. This arrangement was maintained until the end of 1885 when 

 in exchange for other privileges the Society gave the gardens back to the 

 Crown. That this Society with a small membership and little funds 

 doggedly maintained the gardens is greatly to its credit and its zeal con- 

 trasts favorably with that of the Home Government who abandoned 

 their charge soon after founding it. In 1845 Mr. F. \Y. Newman of 

 Sydney was appointed superintendent and held the position until 1859. 

 Newman appears to have been an energetic man and under him the gar- 

 dens were extended, did much useful work, and grew rapidly in favour 



as a public resort. The annual number of visitors increased from 2287 

 in 1847 to 15725 in 1859, and in 1850 over 20 acres were under cultivation 

 In 1857 a catalogue of the plants growing in the gardens was published 

 by Newman. A copy of this interesting work is before me. The full 

 title is Catalogue of Plants in the Royal Society's Gardens, Queens Pari:, 

 Ilobart Town, Tasmania, by Mr. F. W. Newman, Curator. It is ar- 

 ranged under ten headings viz: Trees and Shrubs, Climbers, Coniferae, 

 Roses, Herbaceous Plants, Bulbs and Tuberous rooted plants, Annuals, 

 Succulents, Fruit Trees, Agricultural Grasses, etc., is well printed and 

 typographical errors are remarkably few. It contains the names of 1620 

 plants from all parts of the world. Some 70 kinds of Roses were culti- 

 vated and the Conifers number 135 of which 27 are Pines. The trees, 

 shrubs and herbs of North America are well represented and it is evident 



that plants then being introduced to English gardens were quickly ob- 

 tained for this garden in far off Tasmania. 



On the death of Newman in 1850, Francis Abbott who had been ap- 

 prenticed in the gardens was appointed superintendent and held the 

 post until his death in 1003, then the post remained unfilled until 1011 

 when the present superintendent, Mr. John Wardman was appointed. 

 Today, the Botanical Gardens are not a credit to the Government and 

 people of Tasmania. Official parsimony long sustained has produced 

 the inevitable results. The once rich collections are dwindling away 

 and with them the usefulness of the gardens as testing and acclimatising 



