Biodiversity Heritage Library: Catalogue of All Specimens of Natural History Collected by Mr Blandowski’s Party During an...

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Blandowski’s Catalogue is one of the most precious items held by the Museums Victoria Archives. It documents natural history specimens collected by William Blandowski (1822-1878) and Gerard Krefft (1830-1881) for the National Museum of Victoria (predecessor of Museums Victoria) during an expedition along the Lower Murray and Darling River in 1857. The catalogue has become infamous to those studying the early history of the National Museum of Victoria due to Blandowski’s act of defiance against council members of the Philosophical Institute and Professor Frederick McCoy, the National Museum of Victoria’s first Director. Blandowski colourfully named and described members of the Philosophical Institute after Murray fishes, as well as refusing to handover many of the specimens collected on the expedition, and associated research notes and illustrations. Blandowski’s Catalogue has recently been digitised by BHL Australia and is now available to view online.

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