All Departments·From the Banks of Erne to Botany Bay: John White - Surgeon-General of New South Wales
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Author(s)E. Charles Nelson
Publication Date1987
FormatPDF
Page Count10
Description
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John White (c. 1756-1832)
"The contribution made by Irish men and women to the development of society in Australia during the early years of the colonization by Europeans has received much critical attention in the past year, and undoubtedly more will be said and written in the months to come as the celebrations of the bicentenary of the founding of New South Wales continue.
Yet there is a persistent silence about the Irish men who had prominent positions within the First Fleet, which transported that original and hapless cargo of convicts, and later within the colonial establishment once they had landed at Botany Bay.
This silence can be explained partly by the failure of Austalian historians - past and present - to take up biographical information published fifty years ago about John White, the principal surgeon of the First Fleet, and the chief medical officer - the Surgeon-General - in the new colony."
This article looks at John White, Surgeon-General of the colony in New South Wales, and the first Ulsterman to live in Australia.
About the Author
E. Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson (15 September 1951, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a botanist who specialises in the heather family, Ericaceae, especially Erica, and whose past research interests included the Proteaceae especially Adenanthos. He is the author or editor of over 24 books and more than 150 research papers (usually signed E. Charles Nelson). He was honorary editor of Archives of Natural History (the journal of the Society for the History of Natural History) between 1999 and 2012, and is honorary editor of Heathers (yearbook of The Heather Society).
Nelson was educated at Portora Royal School (Enniskillen), and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in botany at the Aberystwyth University. He then moved to Australia where he obtained a Ph.D. from the Australian National University (Canberra) in 1975, for his studies into the taxonomy and ecology of Adenanthos. He then returned to Ireland, taking up the position of horticultural taxonomist at the Irish National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin (Dublin). While based in Dublin he was one of the founding members of the Irish Garden Plant Society, chairing the inaugural meeting; he was subsequently made an honorary member. His interest in the history of Irish gardens and their plants continues, and he is co-president, with David Gilliland, of the Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Committee which he was instrumental in establishing in 1980. He writes frequently on Irish garden history for The Irish garden magazine.