jnwTj \Vhii>-, J'tissitht of u <*i»\tf ()rju(l*>lthii\t 107 



down 's father, I larold Selwvn Smith in Metlnairnc, ami now stand* 

 in ar tlu* pulpit of I'auTsmi C hiireh. During Septcmher 1 ( >4K Uupp 

 paid a lust visit to Victoria — to attend (lit 1 < iolden Juhilce of Si 

 Au^uM^ue'* (.'hutch of Kngland at Recae, the In >t church hnildin^. 

 erected under his charge. 



/ / Hofunnal t lltniinin'itts 



R. |>. Kiiz( ierald I 1*30-02) pioneered ihe field of all- \ustrahau 

 urehidolngy ami his sumptuous work in colour. .Iitsltitlimi Oiehids. 

 appeared in twelve part* hetween lH?5 and RS'M-. the t'nutl part being 

 pti.slhnuion.-v ; a litlle more than 2CJB species were portrayed and des- 

 enhed therein. Since the death* gf tjn R. S. Rogers (1042) and 

 \\ 11 Xieholls | 1V51 ), undisputed authority in the systematic^ of 

 our (h'clihlitcvttt' had Temained with the Reverend Rupp, Indeed, of 

 tlfis distinguished quartet, it wwlil lie invidious m say syw hkuIc 

 Hie most important contribution ; hut. with tlu* departure of the la-t 

 of litem, it is certain thai a great epoch has closed. Who ii<>\\ will 

 shoulder their mantle? 



hi a series of three articles tor the .lnstn)/i<tn Owhttl /vY;-/Y;v 

 entitled - Memories of an Orchid l.<>vcr" ( I. June I'M! ; II, Sept. 

 l'M-1 ; 111, |niie 1''45), and also in "Memories oi Victorian Or- 

 chids" j I'M. XuL C)V. 145-fi (Mar 1053) |. Rupp virtually pro- 

 vided a hotauical autohiography. His interest in wddfiovvers. he 

 records, went hack to the time of earlv hoyhuod at Koroit, where he 

 vividly reniemhered fording two spider-orchids tColtuIcnia dilatithi 

 and Ci ptitt'i'sonti ) . While his father was stationed at Coleraine. in 

 far-western Victoria. Montague explored the local hn.sh and, even 

 after he was sent to school in (icelong at the age of eleven, vacations 

 were spent in botanizing around hitme and as far afield as Wannon 

 Falls toward Hamilton, lie often holidayed with the Moodie, family 

 at lovely Wanrio Vale near the t'denclg River. Mr. \\ ilham Moodie 

 being a nephew r * >1 |. G, Robertson who contributed records from 

 that district for Renlham's l-'Umt . histraliotsis- — "ll'enihi" ami 

 *'// tndit^ are the quaint mis-spellings used hv Rentham. Rnpp com 

 piled a "Catalogue of the Wildflouei s of Wundo Vale" in IJftJZ. 



By the time lie left CJed^ng (irammar. he knew hetween 30 and 

 40 different Victorian orchids, some from the rich Torquav- 

 \iiglesea coastal hcathlauds. Later, I'niversity vacations were spent 

 at Buninyong. where Ins father had hecome rector in 1K95. and Rnpp 

 was nhle to record 31 orchids for this small district to 1896. It was 

 during Trinity College days too that he made the acquaintance ot 

 Raron von Mueller (see .Inst. ()rclt AY; 1 6: 41 (June 1941 ) | and 

 was thereby spurred on to further botanical endeavours. Ahout this 

 time, two of his best-remembered "rinds" were the intriguing ( Junu 

 Orchid (Sarcochihts ausiraUs) » epiphytic on prieklv currant hushes 

 at Ferntree GulK, and the very rare St<>ut Sun-uichid {Thrlywitru 

 vptpavtotde.'i'i at Rortarlingtnn in RX07. The iTtAltrilfrne* Herbarium 



