Georgiana Molloy
Encyclopedia
Georgiana Molloy was an early settler in Western Australia
, who is remembered as one of the first botanical
collectors in the colony.
Georgiana Molloy was born Georgiana Kennedy in Cumberland
on 23 May 1805. In her youth she was caught up in the Christian
revival sparked by the preacher
Edward Irving
. She became deeply religious, and gradually became estranged from her family, who did not share her fervour. Early in 1829, she accepted a marriage proposal from Captain John Molloy
, and they were married on 6 August of that year. Shortly afterwards, the Molloys sailed for the Swan River Colony
in Western Australia
on board the Warrior. The couple then decided to join with a number of other settlers in forming a new subcolony at Augusta
.
Until 1836, Georgiana Molloy's life was one of great hardship, typical of early settlers in Western Australia
but unfamiliar to one of her social class
in England
. It is evident from her diary that she was unhappy and wished to return to England. However in December 1836, she received a letter from Captain James Mangles, asking her to collect botanical
specimen
s for him. This letter was to fire in Georgiana a great passion for botany. Thereafter she spent nearly all of her leisure time in collecting, collating and documenting botanical specimens.
Mangles had arranged for a number of people in the colony to collect specimens for him, but had been disappointed with the results. The specimens sent by James Drummond
, a professional botanist, were poorly packed and carelessly labelled, and seed
s consistently failed to germinate
. Other collectors were more careful but largely unskilled. In contrast, Molloy's collections were "full of pressed plants mounted and set out with delicacy and precision, and carefully numbered... showing great evidence of care and cleanliness in the sorting" (Hasluck 1955). Mangles broke up Molloy's collections, sending seeds to a number of horticulturists
and botanists throughout England. A number of horticulturists had great success growing from Molloy's seeds, and many new species were described. John Lindley
, Professor of Botany at University College London
, for example, described many new species from her collections, including Corymbia calophylla
.
In 1839 the Molloy family moved to the Vasse
district. Georgiana Molloy was visited by botanists Ludwig Preiss
in 1839 and Drummond in 1842. She continued to collect seed, making use of the knowledge of the local Indigenous Australians
, and she taught herself the rudiments of botany from books sent to her by Mangles.
Georgiana Molloy suffered bouts of ill health after each of her pregnancies. Following the birth of her seventh child, she fell ill and failed to recover. On 8 April 1843, three months after the birth, she died. On hearing of her death, George Hailes, a horticulturist who had been most successful in growing from Molloy's seeds, wrote to Mangles
Molloy did not receive much recognition for her contributions to the description of the Western Australian flora. The shrub Boronia molloyae
was named in her honour, as was a street in the Canberra
suburb of Cook
. Her collections, which are kept at the Kew Herbarium and the University of Cambridge
Herbarium, are attributed to Mangles. She has a school (Georgiana Molloy Anglican School
) named after her in the town of Busselton, Western Australia
. A book was released in 1994 about her work, An All Consuming Passion: Origins, Modernity and the Australian Life of Georgiana Molloy by William J. Lines. A young adult novel based on her life, Georgiana: Woman of Flowers, by Libby Hathorn (published by Hachette) was launched at the Georgiana Molloy Anglican School in 2008.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, who is remembered as one of the first botanical
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
collectors in the colony.
Georgiana Molloy was born Georgiana Kennedy in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
on 23 May 1805. In her youth she was caught up in the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
revival sparked by the preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
Edward Irving
Edward Irving
*For Edward Irving, the Canadian geologist, see Edward A. Irving.Edward Irving was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church.-Youth:...
. She became deeply religious, and gradually became estranged from her family, who did not share her fervour. Early in 1829, she accepted a marriage proposal from Captain John Molloy
John Molloy
Captain John Molloy was an early settler in Western Australia. He was one of the original settlers of Augusta.-Early life:...
, and they were married on 6 August of that year. Shortly afterwards, the Molloys sailed for the Swan River Colony
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on board the Warrior. The couple then decided to join with a number of other settlers in forming a new subcolony at Augusta
Augusta, Western Australia
Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River emerges into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the farthest south-west corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,694; by 2006 the population of...
.
Until 1836, Georgiana Molloy's life was one of great hardship, typical of early settlers in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
but unfamiliar to one of her social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is evident from her diary that she was unhappy and wished to return to England. However in December 1836, she received a letter from Captain James Mangles, asking her to collect botanical
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
s for him. This letter was to fire in Georgiana a great passion for botany. Thereafter she spent nearly all of her leisure time in collecting, collating and documenting botanical specimens.
Mangles had arranged for a number of people in the colony to collect specimens for him, but had been disappointed with the results. The specimens sent by James Drummond
James Drummond (botanist)
James Drummond was a botanist and naturalist who was an early settler in Western Australia.-Early life:...
, a professional botanist, were poorly packed and carelessly labelled, and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s consistently failed to germinate
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
. Other collectors were more careful but largely unskilled. In contrast, Molloy's collections were "full of pressed plants mounted and set out with delicacy and precision, and carefully numbered... showing great evidence of care and cleanliness in the sorting" (Hasluck 1955). Mangles broke up Molloy's collections, sending seeds to a number of horticulturists
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and botanists throughout England. A number of horticulturists had great success growing from Molloy's seeds, and many new species were described. John Lindley
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
, Professor of Botany at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, for example, described many new species from her collections, including Corymbia calophylla
Corymbia calophylla
Corymbia calophylla is a bloodwood native to Western Australia. Common names include Marri and Port Gregory Gum, and a long standing usage has been Red Gum due to the red gum effusions often found on trunks.It is distinctive among bloodwoods for its very large buds and fruit Corymbia calophylla...
.
In 1839 the Molloy family moved to the Vasse
Vasse, Western Australia
Vasse is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, west of the town of Busselton and southwest of Perth. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Busselton...
district. Georgiana Molloy was visited by botanists Ludwig Preiss
Ludwig Preiss
Johann August Ludwig Preiss was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia...
in 1839 and Drummond in 1842. She continued to collect seed, making use of the knowledge of the local Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, and she taught herself the rudiments of botany from books sent to her by Mangles.
Georgiana Molloy suffered bouts of ill health after each of her pregnancies. Following the birth of her seventh child, she fell ill and failed to recover. On 8 April 1843, three months after the birth, she died. On hearing of her death, George Hailes, a horticulturist who had been most successful in growing from Molloy's seeds, wrote to Mangles
Molloy did not receive much recognition for her contributions to the description of the Western Australian flora. The shrub Boronia molloyae
Boronia molloyae
Boronia molloyae is a shrub in the Boronia genus that grows in sandy soils in South West coastal regions of Western Australia. It is a slender shrub with springtime red-pink flowers commonly found along creeks, streams and swamps...
was named in her honour, as was a street in the Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
suburb of Cook
Cook, Australian Capital Territory
Cook is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Cook is in the district of Belconnen. On Census night 2006, Cook had a population of 2,817 people....
. Her collections, which are kept at the Kew Herbarium and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Herbarium, are attributed to Mangles. She has a school (Georgiana Molloy Anglican School
Georgiana Molloy Anglican School
Georgiana Molloy Anglican School is a private school located in Busselton, Western Australia, and named after notable early Western Australian settler Georgiana Molloy. The school was established in 2003 under the guidance of Reverend Tom Wilmot, who recognised the need for an Anglican School on...
) named after her in the town of Busselton, Western Australia
Busselton, Western Australia
-Growth and development:According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the Shire had a permanent resident population of 25,950 in 2004 with the town of Busselton accounting for 67% or 17,400 of the total. The Shire's permanent population is expected to continue to increase significantly to...
. A book was released in 1994 about her work, An All Consuming Passion: Origins, Modernity and the Australian Life of Georgiana Molloy by William J. Lines. A young adult novel based on her life, Georgiana: Woman of Flowers, by Libby Hathorn (published by Hachette) was launched at the Georgiana Molloy Anglican School in 2008.