71 
into a partnership with Frederick Strange for the collec- 
tion of natural history specimens. Strange was speared 
by blacks during an expedition to Percy Island and Hill 
returned with the ketch to Sydney, llis appointment on 
21st February, 18.35, was made by the Imperial Govern- 
ment, his title being that of Superintendent of the 
Botanic Gardens. The area allotted to him was nine 
acres and it did not reach to the river. Soon after Separa- 
tion, j n 185!). he was appointed the first Colonial Botanist. 
He retired on a pension on 1st March, 1881, and died at 
Eight Mile Plains on 4th February, 1904. It was Hill 
who built the gardens, lie assiduously collected and raised 
native plants, and imported ornamental shrubs and trees. 
The Department of Agriculture was not established until 
1888, and in those early days Hill’s Botanic Gardens 
fulfilled the functions of plant introduction gardens, 
experimental grounds and an educational establishment. 
The years between 1824 and 1855 were far from 
being a period of horticultural inactivity. The records 
are scanty, but the early residents had established a great 
variety of economic and ornamental plants, and collectors 
were diligently Sending plants and seeds overseas. One 
curious mistake mentioned by Dr. Dunmore Lang was 
the abortive attempt to raise rice, using the processed 
article bought from a grocery store. Its failure was 
ascribed to unsuitability of the climate. 
In 1847 Governor Fitz-Roy appointed John Carne 
Bidwell, who had a wide reputation as a botanist, to the 
position of director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, but 
by some misunderstanding Earl Grey, Secretary of State 
for the Colonies, independently appointed Charles Moore 
to the same position. Moore arrived in Sydney in Janu- 
ary, 1848, and his appointment had to be given precedence. 
Bidwell at his own suggestion was appointed Commissioner 
of Crown Lands at Wide Bay. His disappointment must 
have been great, as he had been in Australia since 1838 
and had done a great deal of botanical exploration and 
investigation not only in New South Wales (including 
Moroton Bay) but in New Zealand and Tahiti. He had 
collected specimens and seeds of the Bunya Pine and 
taken them to England in 1843; he is commemorated in 
the name of this species. Araucaria bidwiUi. In the brief 
period between his appointment to the Sydney Gardens 
and the arrival of Moore, he had been experimenting in 
the hybridization of Amaryllis and Hibiscus. It is not 
surprising therefore, that he continued his work at Mary- 
borough. He imported a great number of rare plants for 
