Charles Fraser or Frazer (1788–22 December 1831) was Colonial Botanist of New South Wales from 1821 to 1831. He collected and catalogued numerous Australian plant species, and participated in a number of exploring expeditions. He was a member of the Stirling expedition of 1827, and his report on the quality of the soil was instrumental in the decision to establish the Swan River Colony. December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Capital Sydney Government Const. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Swan River Colony was a British settlement established at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia in 1829. ...

Early life and army career

Charles Fraser was born in Blair Athol, Perthshire, Scotland in 1788. He worked as a gardener until enlisting as a soldier in the 56th Regiment on 8 June 1815. He served in the East Indies before arriving in Sydney on board the convict ship Guildford on 8 April 1816. There, his skills as a horticulturalist were recognised, and he was appointed superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, a position that he would hold until his death. In November of 1816, Fraser was transferred to the 46th Regiment. He again transferred regiments in August 1817, this time to the 48th Regiment of Foot. On 6 January 1821, Fraser was discharged from the army and formally appointed Colonial Botanist, a position that he had been holding informally at least since 1819.^[1] Blair Athol may refer to several places: Blair Athol, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide Blair Atholl, Scotland is near Pitlochry Blair Athol Whisky is a single malt Scotch made there This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Perthshire (Siorrachd Pheairt in Gaelic) was a county in central Scotland, which extended from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A gardener is any person involved in the growing and maintenance of plants, notably in a garden. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ... The Royal Botanic Gardens is a 30 hectare site located beside Sydneys Central Business District. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Explorations

From 1817, Fraser travelled extensively as a field collector. He was a member of three of John Oxley's expeditions: his 1817 expedition to the Lachlan River and Bathurst, his 1818 expedition into north-eastern New South Wales, and his 1819 expedition in the areas of Port Macquarie and Hastings River. He visited Tasmania in 1820, and in 1826 visited Tasmania, New Zealand and Norfolk Island.^[1] John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (January 1, 1785, Kirkham, Yorkshire - May 26, 1828) was an early English explorer of Australia. ... The Lachlan River is a significant river in central New South Wales, Australia. ... Location of Bathurst in New South Wales (red) Bathurst is a regional centre in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Apartments in Port Macquarie at twilight - Hollingworth Street, Westport. ... Length  ? km Elevation of the source  ? m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed  ? km² Origin Great Dividing Range Mouth Tasman Sea Basin countries Australia The Hastings River is a large river on the mid-North Coast of the Australian state of New South Wales that empties into the Tasman Sea... Capital Hobart Government Const. ...

Swan River expedition

Early in 1827, Fraser was appointed to accompany Captain (later Admiral Sir) James Stirling on the Swan River expedition of 1827, an expedition to explore the Swan River on the west coast of Australia, and assess its suitability as a site for a new British settlement. The expedition arrived in the area on board the HMS Success on 4 March. After surveying the coastal waters off the Swan, Stirling and Fraser briefly reconnoitred the lower reaches of the River on the 7th. The following day, Stirling led a party of 18 men in two boats, in exploring up the Swan River. With Stirling and Frederick Garling, Fraser climbed Mount Eliza, becoming the first Europeans to do so. At the present-day site of Perth, Stirling named a feature near Heirisson Island Point Fraser in Fraser's honour, and about a mile upstream Fraser discovered a fresh water brook and lagoon that were named Clause's Brook and Clause's Lagoon respectively, in honour of fellow explorer Frederick Clause. The party camped at Clause's Brook, and the following morning three Noongars approached Fraser while he was alone in the camp, angrily gesturing for him to leave. Admiral Sir James Stirling Admiral Sir James Stirling (January 28, 1791–April 23, 1865) was a British marine officer and colonial administrator. ... The first detailed map of the Swan River, drawn by François-Antoine Boniface Heirisson in 1801 Black swan and family The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... Mount Eliza is a hill which overlooks the city of Perth, Western Australia and forms part of Kings Park. ... The Perth skyline veiwed from the Swan River This article is about the urban area of Perth, Western Australia. ... Heirisson Island is named after Midshipman Francois Boniface Heirisson, who discovered it in June 1801. ... The Noongar (alternate spellings: Nyungar/Nyoongar/Nyoongah),[1] are an indigenous Australian people who live in the southwest corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast. ...

By 14 March, the party had traced the Swan River to its junction with Ellen Brook, where the boats could go no further. Stirling then split the party into three groups, each to explore in a different direction. Fraser's group was sent in an eastward direction, where they discovered "many curious and interesting Botanical specimens and a lump of granite from the ridge". Each group having returned to the junction of the Swan with Ellen Brook, the party returned down the Swan River, arriving back at the ship on the 18th.^[2] March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ...

At the conclusion of the expedition, Fraser wrote a glowing report of the quality of the soil in the area. The report, which Statham-Drew has described as "euphoric"^[3], states: "In giving my opinion of the Land seen on the Banks of Swan River, I hesitate not in pronouncing it superior to any I ever saw in New South Wales east of the Blue Mountains...." Together with Stirling's effusive report on the naval, strategic and geological qualities of the area, the reports were instrumental in convincing the British Colonial Office to establish the Swan River Colony, and provided impetus to the period of excessively favorable publicity that has been labelled "Swan River mania".^[4] The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... Swan River Colony was a British settlement established at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia in 1829. ...

In reality the soils of the area are quite poor, and Fraser would later be heavily criticised for the inaccuracy of his report. Analyses of the expedition reports has shown that the party explored only within the narrow strip of rich alluvial soil that occurs near the Swan River, and thus they were unaware of the infertile grey sand that constitutes most of the sand plain. It has also been argued that Fraser's assessment of the fertility of the soil would have been influenced by the greenness and apparent health of the native plants, a method that would have had some validity in England, but has little validity in Australia where the vast majority of plants are adapted to dry, infertile soils. Finally, Appleyard (1979) speculates that "the question must be asked: had the persuasive Stirling unduly influenced - not maliciously but seductively by his boundless enthusiasm - Charles Fraser to pen words that did little credit to his professional and administrative standing?"^[4] Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, to wash against) is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water. ...

Fraser was to bear most of the blame with the Swan River colonists for the misinformation that they received. In a thinly veiled attack on Fraser, Eliza Shaw wrote "that man who reported this land to be good deserves hanging nine times over"^[5]. A naval officer stationed at the Swan River wrote that Fraser's report was so "highly coloured" that it was inevitable that people coming to the colony would be disappointed. John Morgan indirectly criticised Fraser with his comment that botanists are no more capable of assessing land for farming purposes than farmers are capable of discussing "the merits and character of an extraordinary shrub". Finally, in December 1832, Robert Lyon wrote of the "unpardonable sin of Fraser": that he did not state the extent of good land in the area.^[4] 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Robert Menli Lyon (born 1789, date of death unknown) was an early Western Australian settler who became one of the first outspoken advocates of Australian Aboriginal rights and welfare in the colony. ...

Later expeditions

In 1828, Fraser accompanied Allan Cunningham on an expedition that connected the Moreton Bay settlement with the Darling Downs, via Cunningham's Gap. Later that year he was sent by the Governor to collect plants and establish a public garden at Brisbane. Portait of Allan Cunningham Demi roxs Allan Cunningham (July 13, 1791 – June 27, 1839) was an English botanist and explorer. ... Moreton Bay from space, from a NASA photograph Moreton Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of Australia 19 km from Brisbane, Queensland. ... The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. ... Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and Brisbane areas. ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the third largest city in Australia, with a metropolitan population of 1. ...

Charles Fraser died on 22 December 1831. He had collected and catalogued hundreds of Australian plants. According to Hall (1978), more than thirty plant species were named after him, including species in the genera Acacia, Boronia, Allocasuarina, Dysoxylum, Dryandra, Ficus, Hakea, Lomatia, Marsdenia, Persoonia, Sophora and Swainsona.^[1] December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Species About 1,300; see List of Acacia species Acacia tree in the Serengeti, Tanzania Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees of Gondwanian origin belonging to the Subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described from Africa by Linnaeus in 1773. ... Alternative meanings: Boronia (plant) Boronia is a suburb of Australia, in the state of Victoria. ... Species List of Allocasuarina species Allocasuarina is a genus in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae, found primarily in southern Australia. ... species See text. ... Species Vernicia anxius Vernicia cordata Vernicia fordii - tung tree Vernicia montana Vernicia pseudomargarettiae The genus Vernicia, commonly referred to as Candlenut, is a taxon of shrubs or trees. ... Species About 800, including: Ficus altissima Ficus americana Ficus aurea Ficus benghalensis- Indian Banyan Ficus benjamina- Weeping Fig Ficus broadwayi Ficus carica- Common Fig Ficus citrifolia Ficus coronata Ficus drupacea Ficus elastica Ficus godeffroyi Ficus grenadensis Ficus hartii Ficus lyrata Ficus macbrideii Ficus macrophylla- Moreton Bay Fig Ficus microcarpa- Chinese... Species See text Hakea (Hakea) is a genus of about 110 species of shrubs and small trees in the Proteaceae, native to Australia, with the highest species diversity in Western Australia. ... Species See text Lomatia is a genus of 12 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to eastern Australia and southern South America, forming a part of the Antarctic flora. ... Species See text Persoonia is a genus of 98 species in the plant family Proteaceae. ... Species About 60-70 species; see text: Sophora is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Hall, Norman (1978). Botanists of the Eucalypts. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. ISBN 0-643-00271-5. 
2. ^ Shoobert, Joanne (ed.) (2005). Western Australian Exploration: Volume One, December 1826–December 1825. Victoria Park, Western Australia: Hesperian Press. ISBN 0-85905-351-2. 
3. ^ Statham-Drew, Pamela (2003). James Stirling: Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 1-876268-94-8. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} R. T. Appleyard and Toby Manford (1979). The Beginning: European Discovery and Early Settlement of Swan River Western Australia. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-146-0. 
5. ^ Durack, Mary (1976). To Be Heirs Forever. Great Britain: Constable and Company.