Historical information

Copy of original "Botany Book' handwritten by Robert Whatmough in the mid 1800s, accompanied by transcription by Nancy Whatmough. The current edition was put together by Steve Whatmough and published in 2008.

Significance

An example of early horticultural notes. Robert Whatmough was an early Greensborough district orchardist. After arriving in Melbourne in 1841, Robert was Melbourne's first lamplighter in Bourke and Collins Streets. He worked as an orchardist from 1942 to 1887, growing and developing fruit varieties at his 'Willis Vale' orchard. He was an inaugural member of the "Victorian Horticultural Improvement Society' and exhibited 33 varieties of fruit at the1875 Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition..

Physical description

208 pages; spiral binding, clear cover. Original handwritten notes on right side of each page, transcription on left.