Clement Hodgkinson, 1818 - 1893, was born in England, and became a notable Australian naturalist, explorer and surveyor. He is best remembered as a landscape designer of many of Melbourne's spectacular parks and gardens. He rose to the position of Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey, and head of the Victorian Lands Department for the period 1861-1874. 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... -1... Exploration is the act of searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery, e. ... Surveying is concerned with the application of mathematics and physics in obtaining accurate measurements for the determination of the position of points on the Earths surface. ... A landscape architect is primarily a designer of spaces, mostly landscapes, and sometimes gardens, in the field of landscape architecture. ... The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ...

Exploration in New South Wales

The New South Wales colonial government hired Clement Hodgkinson, a young engineer and surveyor from England, to survey and explore north-eastern New South Wales through to Moreton Bay. The exploration ocurred from 1840 to 1842 and was the first major expedition since John Oxley in the 1820s. In March 1841 Clement Hodgkinson explored the upper reaches of the Nambucca and Bellinger Rivers, including being the first European to make contact with the local Aborigines. The Macleay, Clarence, Hastings, Richmond and Tweed River valleys were explored, as well as around Port Macquarie, Brisbane and Moreton Bay. 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Events February 21 - John J. Greenough patents the sewing machine. ... John Oxley (1783 - May 26, 1828) was an early Australian explorer. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Macleay River is a major river in the North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. ... At least three rivers called the Clarence River: Australia The Clarence River flows through Australia Canada/USA The Clarence River rises in the Yukon Territory of Canada and crosses back and forth across the border several times into the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Port Macquarie is a city on the mid-North Coast, New South Wales, Australia, located about 450 km north of Sydney, and 510km south of Brisbane. ... This article is about the Australian city. ... Moreton Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of Australia 19km from Brisbane, Queensland. ...

On his return to England he published an account of his explorations, Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay (1845), on the natural history of the area, and his observations of aboriginal tribal life.

Hodgkinson provides a highly evocative description of the rainforest:

"... the peculiar appearance of the brush is principally caused by the countless species of creepers, wild vines, and parasitical plants of singular conformation, which, interlaced and intertwined in inextricable confusion, bind and weave together the trees almost to their summits, and hang in rich and elegant flowering festoons from the highest branches. The luxuriant and vigorous character of the brush, on alluvial land, in the northern part of the territory of New South Wales, cannot be surpassed in any tropical region. When this brushland is cleared, and cultivated, its fertility seems inexhaustible ..."

As a perceptive observer of aboriginal life and culture, Hodgkinson concluded the chapter on the aborigines with some observations on attempts to civilise them.

"indeed I think that all endeavours to make them adopt more settled habits will be useless, for what great inducement does the monotonous and toilsome existence of the labouring classes in civilized communities offer, to make the savage abandon his independent and careless life, diversified by the exciting occupations of hunting, fighting, and dancing." (p. 242)

He described the Bellinger River valley as 'The brush contained the finest cedar and rosewood I have ever seen.' But it was also noted that the local tribes fiecely fought against encroachment by explorers and timber cutters, attacking their camps. When Hodgkinson returned to the valley he was accompanied by members of the Yarrahappinni group in an effort to explain his 'innocent' intentions to the locals.

Landscape Design of Melbourne's Gardens

Hodgkinson must have appreciated his first stint exploring Australia. In the 1850s he again journeyed from England to the young colony of Victoria. In 1854 his wife, Amelia Diana Hunt, gave birth to a son. A year later his first wife was dead at the age of 26. In 1857 he married Anne Smart and they subsequently had several children, although not without the sadness of the death of a child. Events January 13 - The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Appointed as District Surveyor for Victoria in 1855. As part of his surveying duties, the township of Warrandyte was laid out in 1856. In 1857-1858 he was the Surveyor General of Victoria. 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Warrandyte is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24km east-north-east of Melbourne. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

St Vincent Gardens in Albert Park, now a nationally significant park, is an example of nineteenth century residential development around a landscaped square which Hodgkinson initially designed in 1857 and developed in 1864-1870. Albert Park is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1860 responsibility for the government reserves was exercised by Clement Hodgkinson, the new administrative head of the Lands Department, who took a detailed interest in the planning and development of the city parks, including Fitzroy Gardens. This started an extensive period of landscape design of Melbourne's parks and gardens including: 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...

• Prepared a plan in 1862 for the Flagstaff gardens.

• Queen Victoria provided the grant of land in 1865 for the Edinburgh gardens, in North Fitzroy, which were subsequently laid out by Clement Hodgkinson

• Designed the Treasury Gardens in 1867 as a pattern of diagonally crossing paths lined with trees. Willow trees were planted around an ornamental pond.

• Awarded the task of designing the St Kilda recreational reserve, known today as Alma Park in 1867.

• The Carlton Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, were redesigned for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 by the states leading landscape designers and horticulturalists including Clement Hodgkinson, William Sangster, Nicholas Bickford, and John Guilfoyle.

• Other notable parks include Princes Park in Maryborough, which was a combined effort by a trio of important landscape designers in Victoria, Clement Hodgkinson, William Guilfoyle and Hugh Linaker.

Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... Carlton Gardens south The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

Managing Victoria's Forests

During Hodgkinson's final years as Victorian Assistant-Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey he established a programme of reservation, regulation, administration and education to control the use of Victoria's forests. The Central Forest Board was established to oversee the entire system on 6 March 1874, with Hodgkinson on the board. On 11 March 1874 Clement Hodgkinson retired from public service. In 1883 he briefly came out of retirement to sit on a new Committee of Management to inspect the City Gardens he had done so much to create. March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ... Events January January 16 - The United States Civil service, is passed January 19 - The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service (Roselle, New Jersey) It was built by Thomas Edison. ...

Royal Society of Victoria

Hodgkinson was involved in the Royal Society of Victoria, which discussed and advised the colonial government on scientific issues. One of his papers discussed at the Philosophical Institute held at the Museum of Natural History was titled On the favourable geological and chemical nature of the principal rocks and soils of Victoria, in reference to the production of ordinary cereals and wine. Other papers presented included on Hydrometry, and the Geology of the Upper Murray area.

He was Vice-President of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria in 1856 and again in 1858, and Council Member of the Royal Society of Victoria in 1859-1860.

Tributes

Clement Hodgkinson died in 1893.

Hodgkinsonia ovatiflora, commonly referred to as Hodgkinsonia or Golden ash was named after Clement Hodgkinson. The species is found from the Hastings River, NSW to Mackay, Qld. It grows in Subtropical, dry and littoral rainforest, and also open forest.

In 1858 John Hardy named Olinda creek after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, the daughter of Clement Hodgkinson. Subsequently the suburb of Olinda was named after the creek. Olinda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

External links

• Explorer and surveyor, Clement Hodgkinson, 1818 - 1893 (http://www.users.bigpond.com/nqsearch/famhist/famous.html#CH)
• Hodgkinsonia ovatiflora (http://www.brisrain.webcentral.com.au/database/Hodg_ovatiflora.htm)