Person

Francis, George William (1800 - 1865)

Born
1800
England
Died
9 August 1865
Occupation
Botanic gardens director and Botanist

Summary

George Francis was the Director and Secretary of the new Botanic Gardens, Adelaide 1855-1865. Here he was responsible for establishing the perimeter, solving flooding probems, and landscaping North Terrace to blend with entrance to gardens. He also established the first herbarium and botanical library in Adelaide.
Francis worked in London prior to arriving in South Australia in 1849 and was the editor of the journal "Science and Art". His prior experience in parks and gardens in London proved useful in his landscaping work in Adealide.

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Details

Chronology

1849
Life event - Arrived in South Australia
1855 - 1860
Career position - Superintendent, Adelaide Botanic Gardens
1860 - 1865
Career position - Director, Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium

  • George William Francis - Records, 1855 - 1865, P4-1; Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium. Details

State Records of South Australia

  • George William Francis - Records, 1869, GRG 75/1 and others; State Records of South Australia. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Adelaide Botanic Gardens, The Botanic Garden, Adelaide, South Australia: centenary volume 1855 - 1955:history, guides and catalogues of plants (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1955), 412 pp. Details
  • Aitken, Richard, Seeds of Change: an Illustrated History of Adelaide Botanic Garden (Richmond: Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium/Bloomings Books, 2006). Details
  • Best, Barbara J., The life and works of George William Francis, 1800 - 1865: founder and first Director (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1965), 137, 16, 20 pp. Details
  • Best, Barbara J., George William Francis, first Director of the Adelaide Botanic Garden: a biography (Adelaide: Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and the author, 1986), 182 pp. Details
  • Best, Barbara J., A selection of articles from newspapers and magazines by George William Francis, first director of the Adelaide Botanic Garden (Adelaide: The Author, 1987). Details
  • Francis, George W., Catalogue of plants under cultivation in the Government Botanic Garden, Adelaide, South Australia (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1859), 44 pp. Details
  • Francis, George William, The acclimatisation of harmless, useful, interesting and ornamental animals and plants : being a paper read before the Philosophical Society, Adelaide, South Australia on May 13th, 1862 (Adelaide: Philosophical Society, 1862), 22 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Hsiang-Fu Huang, 'From Grub Street to the Colony: George William Francis and an early Victorian scientific career', Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 76 (1) (2020), 181-208, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2020.0002. Details

Resources

See also

  • Maiden, J. H., 'A century of botanical endeavour in South Australia', Report of the eleventh meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, 11 (1908), 158-199, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14539732. Details
  • Robertson, E. L., 'Botany' in Ideas and Endeavours - The Natural Sciences in South Australia, C. R. Twidale; M. J. Tyler and M. Davies, eds (Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia, 1986), pp. 101-49. Details

Gavan McCarthy

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 29 May 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P000420b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
Reference: https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars/gariwerd-calendar#bom-anchor-list__item-kooyang-season-of-eels

Publisher: Swinburne University of Technology.

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