Alexander Callender Purdie (25 December 1824 – 24 June 1899) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

naturalist and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Early life

Purdie was born in the parish of Fenwick,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. After his schooling he moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

acquiring a trade as a wire worker which he pursued in England and Scotland for several years, while also following his interest in natural history. He emigrated with his wife Ellen in 1860 from Glasgow to New Zealand on the ship “''Pladda''”, and settled in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Work

Purdie was a foundation member of both the Otago Institute in 1869, of which he was elected Curator and Librarian in 1873, and the Dunedin Field Naturalists’ Club, in 1872. He also had a long association with the

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

, of which he was caretaker or curator, and then with the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

where he was a janitor until his retirement in 1893. He died in Dunedin survived by his son and daughter, his wife having died about nine years previously. Purdie was the original describer of the

New Zealand little bittern The New Zealand bittern (''Ixobrychus novaezelandiae'') is an extinct and enigmatic species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It was endemic to New Zealand and was last recorded alive in the 1890s. Common names for this species include New Zeal ...

(''Ixobrychus novaezelandiae'' (Purdie, 1871)). He is commemorated in the name of the plants, '' Helichrysum purdiei'' and '' Boronia purdieana''. His son Alex Purdie (c.1861 - 1905) collected the type specimen of the moth species '' Ichneutica purdii'' which was named in his honour by

Richard William Fereday Richard William Fereday (c.1820–30 August 1899) was a New Zealand lawyer, entomologist and artist. He was born in Ettingshall, Staffordshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders wit ...

References

1824 births 1899 deaths Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand botanists People from Fenwick, East Ayrshire {{NewZealand-botanist-stub