Robert David Fitzgerald ( 1830 - 1892 )

A clump of Dendrobium speciosum grew on a boulder jsut above the high-water mark at Wallis at Wallis Lake , near Sydney , Australia , in 1864. As observed by a young Irish-Australian ornithologist , Robert David Fitzgerald , the plant sparked in him an interest so consuming that the splendid work Australian Orchids culminted as a masterful contribution to orchidology and a monument to its originator .

Fitzgerald was born at Tralee, on 30 November 1830 . The son of a prominent banker and rigid supporter of the Church of England , young Robert was destined to break from the cultural mold established by an orthodox religious family. Sectarian dissension and strained relationships between the churches in the south of Ireland left Fitzgerald with a strong disbelief in any form of religion even at an early age. Instead , nature in all its forms appealed to him.

The instincts of a natural-scientist came to light soon because , concurrent with his studies in civil engineering at Queen's College,Cork, ornithology became his main hobby . At age fifteen he distinguished himself by completely copying a famous on British birds in fine typescript , illustrating it perfectly with replicas of all the original figures , including ,he formed a fine collection of British bird skins and eggs, including numerous type specimens . Many of the skins were expertly mounted ,Fritzgerald having in the course of his studies an accomplished taxidermist as well.

He and his family emigrated to Australia in 1856,settling in Balmain . That same year he joined the Lands Department of New South Wales. Hunding and fishing were pursuits in which Fitzgerald delighted , and seldom did a holiday pass that he was not off camping at the Hawkesbury River or Brisbane Water. He was a splendid shot an old double-barreled , muzzle-loading Manton brought over from Ireland , and it proved an invaluable tool for purposes of obtaining knowledge of Australian birds.

Late in 1864 Fitzgerald and Mr. L.S. Campbell (later to become a well-known botanist and director of agriculture) made an excursion to Wallis Lake to collect bird specimens .It was there that orchids entered into Fitzgerald's life. The two naturalists had shipped their sixteen-foot dinghy abroad a timber trader's ketch along the Wallamba River , to the lake. At the lake the dinghy was launched and the two men sailed off . At their very first landing they were amazed to see large clumbs of " rock lilies" (Dendrobium speciosum )growing on roxks at the lake's edge. " One clump was remarkably fine", stated Campbell years later, " Much better than anything we had seen previously . Mr. Firzgerald longed to have this in his garden (at Glebe Point , Sydney ), but considered it would be hopeless to take such a huge specimen off the rock to the steamer . I assured him that if we returned to that place he would gert it all right. That clump of Dendrobium proved to be the origin of the remarkable publication by Mr. Fitzgereald ,'Australian Orchids,' which made its appearance a few years later....."

From the ornithological standpoint the trip proved barely worthwhile . Fish , however, were so plentiful that the sport was removed from angling , so the two turned their attentions to the botany of the area , particularly the epiphytic orchids. Many species were collected , some of them later identified at Sydney as Dendrobium tetragonum , Dendrobium fairfaxii , and Dendrobium linguiforme .

Gradually Fitzgerald's interest in orchids grew , and his knowledge of them increased steadily through observation and study . He particularly admired Charles Darwin , and for some time a steady correspondence was maintained between the two. References in Darwin's Fertilisation of Orchids (second edition) to Fitzgerald's observations bear witness to the serious thoughtfulness the young Irish-Australian gave to the Orchid family, particularly to fertilization and pollination of Australian species. Most of his spare time was devoted to the study of orchids and ferns , though he yet remained relatively unknown in the botanical world. In 1869,however, he visited Lord Howe Island with Charles Moore of the Sydney Botanic Gardens . Previous to this visit almost all the endemic vegetable life of that isolated spot between New Zealand and Norfolk Island was unknown to science. Here and in numerous other Australian states Fitzgerald discovered many new orchids and other plants, and by his introductions he became publicly known to the " fraternity " of plant scientists.

In January 1873 he was appointed to the post surveyorgeneral of New South Wales, a posistion to which he applied himself with diligence and authority .Through his effors in this office many natural wonders were preserved as public reservations -Katoomba , Leura, Wentworth Falls, Elizabath Island ,and numerous other scenic areas . A series of state visits resulted in a contiunuous stream of plant discoveries , one of which is among Australia's most beautiful orchids,Sarcochilus fitzgerealdii,named in his honor by Ferdinand Mueller , a close botanist-friend of his and a well-known authority on the Orchidaceae . Also in his honor, Mueller established the Australian orchid genus Fitzgeraldia .

Meanwhile Fitzgerald had moved from Balmain to Hunter's Hill, Sydney. There he built a remarkable fernery in which he carried on plant experimentation , besides continuing an avid interest in his work on Australian orchids. Rock by rock , the fenery was constructed entirely by his own hands. It consisted of an excavation measuring about thrty-one by fifteen feet in living sandstone rock, with a glass roof. Half the floor . Rainwater was collected in an immense tank higher up in the garden, and through an ingenious system of plumbing was used and reused to provide the abundance of moisture necessary for the culture of the many rare and beautiful ferns and orchids never previously cultivated in any Australian city.

Not only was Robert Fitzgerald an accomplished surveyor , civil egineer , geologist , ornithologist , and botanist but he was also an excellent artist . In 1875 the first part of his great Australian Orchids was published , and all the monochrome illustrations appearing therein were drawn by Fitzgerald's own hand . In the second part they bagan to be colored. Living specimens were collected , from which each plate was carefully prepared . For the purpose of faithfully depicting each segment , Fitzgerald constructed a small microscope and forceps which held the flower or part thereof in a natural position. The first lithographs colored many by hands as a guide to those engaged in the work of coloring . Successive parts were issued at intervals , and the first volume, published in 1882, was dedicated to the memory of Charles Darwin.

As a busy public servant ,Fitzgerald necessarily did his orchid work in limited spare time . Then in 1884 the Crown Lands Act caused the reorganization of his department , and as a consequence his own post was discontinued and he was forced to retire under a government pension in 1887. Relegated to the seclusion and relative inactivity of private life, Fitzgerald was thus enable to devote much more study and attention to the delineation of the Australian orchids. The publication of Australian Orchids was enthusiastically proceeded with. The first government-subsidized volume was completed, and the second had already run into four parts , with material on hand for a fifth ,when the author-artist died on 12 August 1892. Upon receiving the shocking news of his good friend's death , Ferdinand Mueller wrote:

It is indeed an irreparable loss,not only to our favourite science but to ourselves personally ,who have learned to appreciate his sterling character in life....So long as the lovely orchids of this part of the world embellish with singular and varied beauty the natural features of Australia , so long will the memory of our leading orchidologist be held dear in the study of God's works.

Fitzgerald 's drawings and notes, which were to have complete the fifth part of the second volume ,were carefully collected by Henry Deane and Mr. A . J. Stopps , Fitzgerald's lithographer. Working in co-operation they finished the last number in 1894.

Considering Fitzgerald's limited access to references , difficulties in transporting materials , and other disadvantages under which he worked , it was inevitable that he should occasionally be mistaken in his interpretations of species. His accuracy and botanical insight were , nevertheless, truly remarkable , and his errors were comparatively few. Apart from the approximately 200 plates prepared for his Australian Orchids, numerous unpublished plates were completed , as well as hundreds of exquisitely colored drawings of native flowers, all drawn from living specimens solely for Fitzgerald's amusement , without any intention of any orchid could be obtained from a dried and pressed specimen ,despite the fact that his friend Mueller would never attempt to describe a new species until it had been throughly dried .

Fitzgerald was regarded as an amiable and versatile man. Though grave in manner , he possed a kindly disposition with a winning manner and with his intimates he displayed a genuine Irish humor. He was frank and unpretentious , as easily approachable in official as in private life, and especially gifted , as it was ever noticed , to gain the respect and confidence of young people . He was married to Emily Hunt ,by whom he had three sons and two daughters .

References

Britten ,James ,and Boulenger ,G.S. 1931 . A Biofraphical Index of Deceased British and Irish Botanists. 2nd ed.London: Taylor& Francis.

Campbell ,Walter S. 1924. Seeking Australian Orchids-R.D. Fitzgerald's Great Work- Reminiscences from Field and Study . Daily Telegraph (sydney). May 10.

Daily Telegraph. 1892 . Sydney .August 16.

Gardener's Chronicle. 1892. Mr. R.D. Fitzgerald .Vol. 12 ,no. 301.

Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 1878. Vol. 13,p. 102.

Messmer ,Mrs. C.A. 1932. The Biography of Robert David Fitzgerald ,F.L,.S.,

and Arthur James Stopps ,F.L.S. Victorian Naturalist .April.

Mueller ,F. 1892. Journ.Bot. (Obitury note) .Vol. 30 ,p. 320.

Rupp,Rev. H.M.R. 1944-45 . A Critical Revision of R.D. Fitzgerald's " Australian Orchids" . Linnean Soc.of N.S.W . Proc. 69,nos . 315-316.

Serle ,Percival . 1949. Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney : Angus& Robertson.

Sydney Mail ,The . 1892. The Late Robert David Fitzgerald ,F.L.S. Sepetember 3.

Victorian Naturalist . 1892. Vol. 9: 75.

White ,C.T. 1940. A History of Australian Orchids. Australian Orch. Rev. 5, no. 4.