160 J. H. MAIDEN. 



Guilfoyle, William Robert (1840 - 1912). 



He was the doyen of Australian landscape gardeners, and 

 I enjoyed his warm friendship for many years. Once, 

 when in a reminiscent mood, he wrote down for me an 

 account of the principal events in his life. 



He was born on the 8th December, 1840 at Chelsea, 

 London, three doors from the house where His mother and 

 grandmother were both born. His father was Mr. Michael 

 Guilfoyle, for many years one of our best nurserymen and 

 landscape gardeners, who arrived in Sydney in 1851 or 1852 

 and at once established a nursery at Redfern. The spot 

 is now occupied as a Sports Ground and faces the big sand- 

 hill, which is surmounted by the Roman Catholic Church 

 of Mount Carmel. Mr. Guilfoyle told me there were only 

 a few huts on that hill when his father lived on the flat. 

 When the gold discoveries took place Mr. Michael Guil- 

 foyle's men deserted him, and he had to abandon the nur- 

 sery. He then laid out Greenoaks for Mr. T. S. Mort, and 

 when that work was finished he established a nursery at 

 Double Bay, Sydney, which made his name famous. He 

 brought together a wonderful collection of plants from all 

 parts of the world. He also did good work in making 

 Australian and Pacific Island plants better known in many 

 parts of the world. At the same time that he owned the 

 Double Bay nursery, he laid out scores of other gardens 

 around Sydney and in the country. He obtained his train- 

 ing in England under Joseph Knight of the Royal Exotic 

 Nursery, King's Road, Chelsea, which was subsequently 

 Veitch's establishment. Mr. Knight had such a belief in 

 Mr. Michael Guilfoyle's abilities that he sent him to many 

 parts of the Kingdom to lay out or remodel parks and 

 gardens frequently without even inspecting his work. Two 

 of his sons followed in their father's footsteps, William, the 

 subject of this notice, and John, who was in charge of the 



