Iiiinlemn,! Nieholls [Martrtj ly2tH 

 m Matin lhai Hill firsi came mm 

 CQOCaW wnli N. A. Wakclteld. Orcht- 

 dologist W II Nieholls had tele 

 eraivimed M.iilo, saving "Scud mare 

 ( iypii<Mvli\ 1,-iiintiiihi" (which Hun- 

 ter bad called il), hin ihe Inltcr failed 

 to icdiscover Ihe unusual orchid in 

 iliai distnd. Nieholls du-u conmus- 

 sioned the Wakelield lamilv ol Oibost 

 10 make an intensive search. Norman 

 Wakefield and his lather SlKJC^Ciled 

 in locating more material which 

 heeame the i\pe lor this new and 

 remarkable species. Many years later 

 Wakefield named hiui,: fuinmrHilli 

 (Snowy Rivei Wallle) m honour of 

 his frrefld, unaware dial die same 

 species had picviously hecn described 

 il) V w SimiiIi Wales uiidei the name 

 Aivciu honrmanli. 



With all his immense stoic of field 

 knowledge. Hill llunlcr published 

 astonishingly little He seems to have 

 made only three conlnlnilioiis to Ihe 

 Victorian Naturalist, v'r/.: 



1 "I isi of orchids recorded lor 

 liast (i.ppsl.uul" (Dec. IW.Si 



wilh valuable notes on dis 

 trihulion. 



2 "The Mountain Plum Pme 

 of Goonmirk. &SI (..p|>s 

 land" I May W411 tccord 

 dimensions are {liven lor Ibis 

 usualK sprawling conifer which 

 at Goonm.tk (.1000 H all. I 

 allained 20-25 ft., with tnmks 

 up to I ft. in duimcter ai the 



?. "HahiK of l-asl tiippsland 

 (."urniwongs" (fan, l l '54). 



I\ir|y in 1 l >50 he moved from 

 Bairnsdalc to Mario lal the Snowv 

 River motidi). and during I'Jvt tic 

 built «i collage on Ihe tio.lbein out 



tl„nl. r ■ «n5>il'"x* 3lc ..cUp^J 1|v litre at 

 m cvLC|itiun<lly »pr-THt>n nor I It.-»i,-J 

 0B iru .wirnl hi iht r^nt ,ins> -Ml I? Nov 



IW H i> jI'luI •»■ M l»l « "i 



L&UOIOC '-f b ' ,1 IT. I* K«l.O! 



skills ol Malhicooia; there he KsfyM . 

 unul impoverished circumstances . ( p t: i 

 lading health demanded his remciv.ii I 

 hi It.iunsdalc Home and Hospiial m i 

 IW.i. Ihe local Inish nurse at Mal| a - 

 CQCUtt, Sisier Dickenson, lalierly ktp' ' 

 a kindly eye on his welfare: hui | 

 nothing delighted ihe old survives 

 more than a call Irom some vlS&jM 

 botanist - with, perhaps, a raiiink 

 in ihe ncarhv bush lhal he knew gg 

 well, 



The wi net's liicndship and cornv 

 pondeme wilh Hill llunict cQVtj] 

 more than 2$ years, from early in 

 I "41. when he became very enthu- 

 siastic m collecting and identifying 

 last Gippsland lungi. lo his last 

 letter (still in the neatest script) Qj 

 Id March. l"(V->. One remembers 

 him as a stockv man with round 

 face, pale blue dancing eyes, while 

 bnsils piison-cut" hair and a loud 

 pencil ating voice. I well recall travel 

 Inn' wilh him Qttds on a Mclbourm 

 nam. when lie began describing one 

 id his recent botanical trophies, ami 

 how ihsiinei it seemed from spates 

 so-aiid sn. Phrases like "calw split 

 in du- biMitun". ' anthers with o hairy 

 appendage aid ovary r/<</ri infer- 

 ior" shouted in a crescendo of 

 excitement above the rattle of the 

 train — soon bad Ihe heads of curious 

 and slat lied fellow-passenccrs craned 

 in our direction' 



Bill was mosl pieeisc. punctilious 

 and at times a bide stubborn. Some 

 amusing slum s ,.tv lold about his Kb 

 pious: the lime bis laden paU- 

 hotse. ttoi very successfully strapped, 

 bolted up Wiileuliueiane Wav RVj 

 kit a trail of camping supplies uV- 

 iributed lot tniVHf chains along the 

 mountain track the time he reached 

 eiueerly tor an apple while stcciini' 

 his old ear and tail off ihe road mil- 

 the? bush. Once he btushed Vim II 

 policeman about his lailure io haw 



90 



Vicl Nat Vol 9? 



