Robert Littlejohn (1756-1818) was a Scottish gardener, amateur naturalist and an artist who settled in what is now the island state of Tasmania in Australia. In 1813, he built a brick house that he named Montrose House. It is the third oldest residence in Tasmania and is listed on the

Tasmanian Heritage Register The Tasmanian Heritage Register is the statutory heritage register of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is defined as a list of areas currently identified as having historic cultural heritage importance to Tasmania as a whole. The Register is k ...

Personal life

Robert Littlejohn was born in Scotland, where he received a liberal education. Littlejohn died on 26 October 1818.

Tasmania

Littlejohn travelled with

David Collins David Collins may refer to: Persons * David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer * David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967) * David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?) * David Collins (Australian footballer) ( ...

on the ''

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

'' from 1803 to 1804, when he arrived at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

and then River Derwent in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

(Tasmania). With him was his servant Thomas Littlefield. Littlejohn and Littlefield received land grants upon their arrival. Littlejohn received 100 acres (40 ha) at Miller's Bay, Glenorchy (

Prince of Wales Bay Prince of Wales Bay is located on the western shore of the River Derwent in southern Tasmania, Australia. It is located between the suburbs of Dowsing Point, Goodwood and Lutana. The area is home to two public parks, Giblin Reserve and Pr ...

) by Governor

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence an ...

after January 1806, when he was shown to be a successful gardener. He then had a total of 120 acres at Glenorchy, between Humphrey's Rivulet and New Town Creek. He named his land Montrose Estate and in 1813 he built Montrose House, which is the third oldest house in Tasmania. It is permanently listed on the

. Littlejohn named his property after a place in Scotland. Built of brick by convicts, the house has Huon pine floors, a Blackwood staircase, Blackwood flooring, and a hand-cut-shingle ceiling in the dining room. It had a workshop and a six-stall stable block. Littlejohn Creek, which runs through Montrose Estate, was named after Littlejohn. The

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

suburb of Montrose is named after Littlejohn's Montrose Estate. Littlejohn collected and classified rare indigenous plants. He was considered "a man of wealth of learning and a naturalist of repute," with plants and seeds of the ''Veronica derwentia littlejohn'' sent to Robert Brown at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Henry Cranke Andrews described the plant in ''The Botanists Repository for New and Rare Plants''. A collection of his seeds were passed to botanist Allan Cunningham, who sent a selection of 44 seeds to

William Townsend Aiton William Townsend Aiton FRHS FLS (2 February 1766 – 9 October 1849) was an English botanist. He was born at Kew on 2 February 1766, the eldest son of William Aiton. He brought out a second and enlarged edition of the ''Hortus Kewensis'' in 181 ...

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. The Hobart Town Gazette said of him on his death, he had: He gained a reputation for his watercolour paintings. Littlejohn taught local children in his house.

Personal life

Tasmania

Notes

References

Further reading