Maurice William Holtze (8 July 1840 – 12 October 1923) born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany, was a botanist who established Darwin's Botanical Gardens in Fannie Bay, Darwin in 1878. When he left to take charge of Adelaide's Botanic Garden in 1891, his son Nicholas was appointed curator of the Darwin Botanical Gardens in his place.Kraehenbuehl, D. K
"Holtze, Maurice William (1840–1923)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography Online'', accessed 20 March 2011 Holtze studied at

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

before serving an apprenticeship in Hanover, where he subsequently worked for four years in the Royal Gardens. He spent two years in the Imperial Gardens of St. Petersburg before emigrating in 1872 to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, then to

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

. While in Darwin (then called Palmerston, later Port Darwin) he made trial plantings of a large number of tropical plants of potential economic importance: rubber, rice, peanuts, tobacco, sugar, coffee, indigo and maize. He supplied the sugarcane tubers for the Cox's (later Cox) Peninsula sugarcane venture in which B. C. DeLissa and W. H. and G. T. Bean had a large interest. He was involved in a private agricultural enterprise in Darwin's Jungle Creek and Palm Creek region, known as "Holtze Jungle", later " Holmes Jungle". Holtze sent a large number of botanic specimens from the Darwin area and nearby islands, many of which had not been previously described, to

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

. In Adelaide, succeeding the great Dr Schomburgk as curator, he did much to make the Botanic Gardens an attractive place for the general public to visit, a novel policy at the time. He established lakes populated with water-lilies and lotuses, which became quite famous.Dr Holtze I.S.O.
''The Register'' 4 June 1913 p.13 accessed 20 March 2011 He retired in 1917 and died in 1923 at

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

in South Australia at the home of his daughter. He is buried in the Penneshaw Cemetery on Kangaroo Island along with his wife, Evlampia (née Mizinzoff), who died 5 July 1937. A son, Alexis Leopold Holtze (1883 – 26 November 1938), was horticultural correspondent for the Mount Barker

Courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

, and editor of ''Garden and Field'', later manager of radio station 5AD. He was killed in a single-vehicle car crash. Another son, Vladimir or Wladimir "Wallaby" Holtze (c. 1869 – c. 1963), was a linesman with the Overland Telegraph Department (later

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

) from 1881, and stationed at Powell Creek, Daly Waters and for a time as postmaster at

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termin ...

. He died in Darwin.

Recognition

*''Clerodendron holtzei'' (now ''

Clerodendrum holtzei ''Clerodendrum'' is a genus of flowering plants formerly placed in the family Verbenaceae, but now considered to belong to the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Its common names include glorybower, bagflower and bleeding-heart. It is currently classified ...

''), ''

Sida holtzei Sida may refer to: * ''Sida'' (crustacean), a genus of cladoceran water fleas * ''Sida'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * SIDA, Security Identification Display Area, US FAA * Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, a Swedis ...

'', ''

Habenaria holtzei ''Habenaria'', commonly called rein orchids or bog orchids, is a widely distributed genus of orchids in the tribe Orchideae. About 880 species of ''Habenaria'' have been formally described. They are native to every continent except Antarctica, g ...

'' and ''

Polyalthia holtzeana ''Polyalthia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. There are approximately 90 species distributed from Africa to Asia and the Pacific.

'' were named for him. * Probably also Northern Territory natives ''

Uvaria holtzei ''Uvaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. The generic name ''uvaria'' is derived from the Latin ''uva'' meaning grape, likely because the edible fruit of some species in the genus resemble grapes. Circumscription Specie ...

'', '' Aristolochia holtzei'', '' Polycarpaea holtzei'' (incorrectly ''Polycarpaea holtzii''), ''

Trichosanthes holtzei ''Trichosanthes'' is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines. They belong to the cucumber family (biology), family (Cucurbitaceae), and are closely related to ''Gymnopetalum''. ''Hodgsonia'', formerly included here, is usually considered a well ...

'', '' Goodenia holtzeana'', ''

Utricularia holtzei ''Utricularia holtzei'' is an annual affixed aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus ''Utricularia'' (family Lentibulariaceae). It is endemic to the Northern Territory.Taylor, Peter. (1989). '' The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic mo ...

'', '' Calochilus holtzei'', ''Habenaria holtzei'' (since renamed '' Habenaria rumphii''), '' Sterculia holtzei'', '' Eulophia holtzei'', '' Piper holtzei'', '' Hibbertia holtzei'' and '' Calogyne holtzeana'',Checklist of Northern Territory Plants
accessed 20 August 2011 of which all but two were described by Ferdinand von Mueller. *He was awarded the

Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

in 1913. *The outer Darwin locality, Holtze, was named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtze, Maurice William 19th-century German botanists German emigrants to Australia Australian Companions of the Imperial Service Order 1840 births 1923 deaths Scientists from Hanover