Frederick Manson Bailey | |
|---|---|
 Frederick Manson Bailey | |
| Born | (1827-03-08)8 March 1827 |
| Died | 25 June 1915(1915-06-25) (aged 88) |
| Resting place | South Brisbane Cemetery |
| Spouse | Anna Maria Bailey |
| Awards | Clarke Medal(1902) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany,Horticulture |
| Institutions | Queensland Museum |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | F.M.Bailey |
Frederick Manson BaileyCMG (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active inAustralia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora ofQueensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson.[1]
Bailey was born inLondon, the second son ofJohn Bailey (horticulturist and first Colonial Botanist ofSouth Australia[2]) and his wife,née Manson. Frederick was educated at the foundation school of the Independent Church at Hackney, London. The family went to Australia in 1838 arriving atAdelaide on 22 March 1839 in theBuckinghamshire. John Bailey was appointed colonial botanist soon afterwards and was asked to form a botanic garden. John Bailey resigned in 1841, began farming, and subsequently started a plant nursery at Adelaide. In these ventures he was assisted by Frederick.[1][3]
In 1858, Bailey went toNew Zealand and took up land in theHutt Valley. In 1861, Frederick started a seedsman's business inBrisbane. For some years, he was collecting in various parts of Queensland, and he also contributed articles to the newspapers on plant life. Bailey married Anna Maria, eldest daughter of the Rev. T. Waite in 1856.[3]
In 1874, Bailey published aHandbook to the Ferns of Queensland, and in the following year was made botanist to the board appointed to investigate diseases of livestock and plants. Consequently, Bailey in 1879 publishedAn Illustrated Monograph of the Grasses of Queensland withKarl Staiger. He was afterwards put in charge of the botanical section of theQueensland Museum, in 1881 was made colonial botanist of Queensland, and held this position until his death. He published in 1881The Fern World of Australia, and in 1883 appearedA Synopsis of the Queensland Flora, a work of nearly 900 pages to which supplementary volumes were added in later years.[3]
In 1891, he wrote Botany:Contributions to the Queensland Flora (on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Brisbane) as colonial botanist.[1][4]
A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora was then superseded byThe Queensland Flora, published in six volumes between 1899 and 1902 with an index published three years later. In the meantime, there had beenA Companion for the Queensland Student of Plant Life and Botany Abridged (1897), a revised reissue of two earlier pamphlets. Among other works of Bailey wasA Catalogue of the Indigenous and Naturalised Plants of Queensland (1890). This was expanded into aComprehensive Catalogue of Queensland Plants, Both Indigenous and Naturalised (1912), which appeared with many illustrations.[5]
Bailey travelled widely, important expeditions includedRockingham Bay,Seaview Range and the upperHerbert River (1873), western Queensland, Roma andRockhampton (1876),Cairns and theBarron River (1877),Mount Bellenden Ker (1889),Georgina River (1895),Torres Strait (1897) andBritish New Guinea (1898). Bailey was awarded theClarke Medal of theRoyal Society of New South Wales in 1902, and was created C.M.G. (Companion of theOrder of St Michael and St George) in 1911. Bailey died on 25 June 1915 at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane.[1][3] He is buried inSouth Brisbane Cemetery.[6]
Bailey's name has been attached to about 50 species of plants by fellow botanists, such asAcacia baileyana andGrevillea baileyana.[7] A son,John Frederick Bailey, who survived him, was director of the Brisbane and then Adelaide botanic gardens andCyril Tenison White, government botanist of Queensland was his grandson and a pupil-assistant in 1905.[3]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Clarke Medal 1902 | Succeeded by |
