William henry mcarthur biography

William Macarthur

Australian botanist and vigneron

For other people with this name, see William McArthur (disambiguation).

The Honourable Sir William Macarthur (December – 29 October ) was an Australian botanist and vigneron. He was one of the most active and influential horticulturists in Australia in the mid-to-late 19th century.

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    • Among the first viticulturists in Australia, Macarthur was a medal-winning wine-maker, as well as a respected amateur botanist and noted plant breeder.

    Biography

    William Macarthur was born at Parramatta in December , the fifth son of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, pioneers of the Australian wool industry. He was educated in England at Rugby School, returned to Australia with his father in , and assisted in the management of his estates.

    These estates included land controlled by the Macarthurs south along the Murrumbidgee River from Gundagai.[1] Brothers James[2] and William Macarthur stocked 'Nangus Station' with cattle in [3] The island in the middle of the River at Nangus is marked as one of the early goldfields and named "M'Arthur Island".

    The island is where the highly auriferous Adelong Creek enters the Murrumbidgee River.[4] William pursued a slight career in colonial politics, though this was secondary to his interests in botany. William lived at Camden Park, south west of Sydney, with his brother James[2] who was prominent in local and colonial politics.[1]

    Contribution to horticulture

    In , William Macarthur, regarded at the time as a leading Australian viticulturist, published a small volume, Letters on the Culture of the Vine, Fermentation, and the Management of the Cellar, which was widely read.[5] He was President of New South Wales Vineyard Association and had a vineyard and extensive cellars at the family estate at Camden Park.[6]

    Macarthur was a competent botanist, horticulturist and agriculturist, and his operations helped to make Camden Park celebrated.

    He entertained eminent scientific men who visited the Colony and bore the reputation of a cultured gentleman.

    Sir William Macarthur (), landowner, was born in December at Parramatta, youngest son of John Macarthur and his wife Elizabeth. At 9 he was 'a fine daring fellow' with 'the activity of a monkey' and a puckish sense of humour.

    He sent plants to James Backhouse which are now in the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the British Museum. The extensive catalogues of his Camden Park Nursery, published in , , and , provide a valuable insight both into the contents of colonial gardens and to the international exchange of plants in the early-to-midth century.

    'Aspasia macarthur', bred at Camden Park, was the first Australian cultivar of the camellia.

    Macarthur is commemorated in the genus MacarthuriaHugel ex Endl., also in the species: Cyathea macarthurii and Ptychosperma macarthurii

    The standard author abbreviationMacarthur is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[7]

    Political life

    In he unsuccessfully sought election for the New South Wales Legislative Council seat representing the Town of Parramatta,[1] but in he was elected the member for Port Phillip.[6] That seat was abolished when Port Phillip separated as the Colony of Victoria in and Macarthur remained in the council as the member for the Pastoral Districts of Lachlan and Lower Darling before resigning in [1] In he was a member of a commission for the colony's participation in the Paris International Exhibition of ,[8] where his fluency in French was invaluable in resolving initial confusion over the areas allotted to the Australian colonies.

    A selection of Australian timber specimens from the Exposition are displayed at Camden Park.

    When William Henry McArthur was born on 30 September , in Davenport, Scott, Iowa, United States, his father, Gabriel Abram McArthur, was 36 and his mother, Elisabeth Glaspell, was He married Eva Gertrude Harding on 4 January , in Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son.

    Shortly afterwards he was knighted. He returned to Australia in and was appointed a member of the Legislative Council in , but he never took a prominent part in politics and was more at home with his pastoral pursuits, having been given stewardship of his family's landmark pastoral property Camden Park. He was also an active in club life and served as the president of the Australian Club.

    He died unmarried on 29 October His estate, along with those of his brothers James[2] and Sir Edward, was left to his niece, James' daughter Elizabeth, wife of Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow.[9] After Arthur's death, Elizabeth changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow.

    References

    1. ^ abcdTeale, Ruth ().

      "Macarthur, Sir William ()". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN&#;.

    4. ISSN&#; OCLC&#; Retrieved 21 April

    5. ^ abcHeydon, J D (). "Macarthur, James ()". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.

      William henry mcarthur biography In William and James became partners with their brother Edward and in borrowed £10, in London to acquire the Belmont estate at Camden, where they built an inn, an Anglican Church and twenty cottages for selected immigrants from Kent and Dorsetshire. Most of the Macarthur sheep grazed on Richlands, Edward's 20, acres ( ha.

      ISBN&#;. ISSN&#; OCLC&#; Retrieved 21 April

    6. ^Butcher, C. Gundagai: A Track Winding Back, Cliff Butcher, self-published, p
    7. ^Victoria [map] Bartholomew, John, Victoria Historical MAPS MX a Available [online] 8 December at the Wayback Machine
    8. ^Gerald Walsh ():The Wine Industry of Australia Accessed 25 May
    9. ^ ab"Sir William Macarthur ()".

      Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April

    10. ^International Plant Names Index.

      William Henry McArthur (1857–1930) • FamilySearch: The Honourable Sir William Macarthur (December – 29 October ) was an Australian botanist and vigneron. He was one of the most active and influential horticulturists in Australia in the mid-to-late 19th century.

      &#;Macarthur.

    11. ^"Paris exhibition". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January p.&#;8. Retrieved 20 April &#; via Trove.
    12. ^Nairn, Bede ().

      William henry mcarthur scientist William Macarthur was born at Parramatta in December , the fifth son of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, pioneers of the Australian wool industry. He was educated in England at Rugby School, returned to Australia with his father in , and assisted in the management of his estates.

      "Onslow, Arthur Alexander Walton ()". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN&#;. ISSN&#; OCLC&#; Retrieved 21 April

    • Maiden, J.H. () Records of Australian botanists- (a) General, (b) New South Wales. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales for - reproduced at Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, Australian National Herbarium.

    External links