RE-DISCOVERING
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM
BOTANIST EXPLORER
Born 1791 Died 1839

Darkened by shade, slime at the edges, the pond is not appealing to look at. The water is clear, she can see the bottom, but it's black with sludge. Amongst the sludge slides a menacing shape, an eel blending into its environment. The obelisk, decaying sandstone, moss growing at the edges, sits like a neglected piece of the past in the centre of the pond. Was it a memorial? The name of the person it commemorated was Allan Cunningham. Hello Mr Cunningham! Why have you been honoured with a memorial, here? The plaque states that the obelisk was "Erected to the memory of Allan Cunningham Botanist MDCCCXLIV". Not being familiar with the roman numerals that spelled out the date, it was difficult to identify which year this edifice was celebrating. Curiosity has stirred. Is there more to the story

Just above the base stone there is a second plaque completely discoloured with moss and weather stains. The words are not clear. She peers at the plaque for a while and the words come into focus, "The remains of Allan Cunningham were interred in the Devonshire Street Cemetery in July 1839 from which they were reverently removed on the 25th May 1901 and placed within this obelisk".

So . . . he died at the young age of 47, shortly after the coronation of Queen Victoria in Britain. Gone but not forgotten. In 1901, sixty years after he was buried, he was moved to a prime spot in The Royal Botanical Gardens of Sydney Australia.

The movers and shakers of the day paid homage to him in a very impressive way. It's his grave not just a memorial. How profound is that?

What are you doing here Mr Cunningham and who where you?

Enough distraction, the artist is here, on this beautiful sun filled winter's day, to draw and paint. Then imagination kicks in and a wonderful thing occurs in the mind of the artist. Why not move Mr Cunningham from the dark pond and place him within the Palm Grove that skirts the pond? Artists create worlds that never existed or they slightly change the reality of the scene placed before them. Let's refurbish the pond and place the long forgotten botanist amidst the beautiful garden. Get him out of the murky pond. As this action will happen only within her imagination, no one will protest. No committee will be formed. There will be no delay, no procrastination. Artists when creating are free to do as they please, when they please - pure freedom. They can enhance the beauty of the world in their painting, if not in reality.

A call made via the mobile phone to a friend requesting a quick look-up on the Internet and the artist was informed that Allan Cunningham was indeed a botanist and he had a very important connection in the history of Australia, Sir Joseph Banks.

Sir Joseph was a person whose interest in Australia spanned many years of his life and is considered a very important part of the early history of Australia. He was very much a part of the Age of Enlightenment putting his talents to work as President of The Royal Society of London between 1778 and 1820. Mr Cunningham was recruited from Kew Gardens London, by Sir Joseph Banks, and sent to New South Wales via Brazil in 1816 to collect plants.

It was a time in history where people were trying to name and categorise all living plants hence the need for plant collection. Although Sir Joseph died only four years after sending the botanist to Sydney, the end of his brilliant life, Mr Cunningham was just at the beginning of his own story.

He collected much more than plants. His life was filled with adventure. He became a member of that elite group of people who explored the eastern part of Australia in the eighteen hundreds. Early in his Australian adventures, he joined John Oxley and Philip Parker King in several explorations. He assisted with all sorts of discoveries both botanical and geographical. Later he became an explorer in his own right. His most famous geographic discovery was the Darling Downs.

A number of plants are named after him one being Casuarina cunninghamiana. His tenacity and dedication to every thing he did was considered close to heroic in some circles. "The president of the Linnean Society, reporting his death, said : He was distinguished for his moral worth, singleness of heart, and enthusiastic zeal in the pursuit of science."

Returning to Sydney after a trip to New Zealand, he became very ill with tuberculosis and never recovered. He was only 47. There was so much more he wanted to achieve. His home at the time of his death was a small cottage in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens Sydney Australia.

So . . . that's why he's been laid to rest here. It was his home and many of the plants surrounding this pond originated from his botanical research. His discoveries live on in these gardens. Following the excitement of re-discovering Allan Cunningham, a smile of new knowledge twinkled in the artist's eyes as she settled down, at last, to create a beautiful work on paper, or at least try, for she was in no way a Rembrandt.

Looking at the obelisk in the pond from a different perspective it was clear that Mr Cunningham's place there fitted into the scene perfectly. Feeling no need to move him to a new location, the artist placed his obelisk, in her painting, just where it was, surrounded by many palms and tried to interpret the dappled sunlight, dancing on Mr Cunningham's grave.

Bibliography

Hay, Ashley, "GUM", published by Duffy and Snellgrove 2002

Edwards, Ian, "PEOPLE : ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 1791 TO 1839", published on the website of the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia

Gray, Michael and O'Connor, Daryl, "PALMS : ARCHONOTOPHOENIX CUNNINGHAMIANA", as published on the website of the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia

Orchard A.E., "CUNNINGHAM, ALLAN 1791 - 1839", published on the website of the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Lee, Ida, "EARLY EXPLORERS IN AUSTRALIA: CUNNINGHAM'S JOURNAL 1817" Published by Metheuen & Co Ltd 1925 and reproduced by Project Gutenberg of Australia 2004

Gascoigne, John, "JOSEPH BANKS AND THE ENGLISH ENLIGHTENMENT" published by Cambridge University Press 1994

Badger, G, "EXPLORERS OF AUSTRALIA"

Joy, William, "THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL - 200 YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN EXPLORATION"