The Honourable Sir William Macarthur (December 1800 – 29 October 1882) was an Australian

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 ...

and

vigneron A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by winery, wineries or :Wine companies, wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulture, viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grape ...

. He was one of the most active and influential horticulturists in Australia in the mid-to-late 19th century. Among the first viticulturists in Australia, Macarthur was a medal-winning wine-maker, as well as a respected amateur botanist and noted plant breeder.

Biography

William Macarthur was born at

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

in December 1800, the fifth son of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Elizabeth Macarthur Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an Anglo-Australian pastoralist and merchant, and wife of John Macarthur. Early life Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule, Devon, England, the daughter of provincial farmers, ...

, pioneers of the Australian wool industry. He was educated in England at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, returned to Australia with his father in 1817, and assisted in the management of his estates. These estates included land controlled by the Macarthurs south along the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

from

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

. Brothers James and William Macarthur stocked 'Nangus Station' with cattle in 1831. The island in the middle of the River at Nangus is marked as one of the early goldfields and named "M'Arthur Island". The island is where the highly auriferous Adelong Creek enters the

. William pursued a slight career in colonial politics, though this was secondary to his interests in botany. William lived at Camden Park, south west of Sydney, with his brother James who was prominent in local and colonial politics.

Contribution to horticulture

In 1844, William Macarthur, regarded at the time as a leading Australian

viticulturist Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

, published a small volume, ''Letters on the Culture of the Vine, Fermentation, and the Management of the Cellar'', which was widely read. He was President of New South Wales Vineyard Association and had a vineyard and extensive cellars at the family estate at Camden Park. Erythrina x bidwillii 'Camdeni'

Macarthur was a competent

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

and

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

, and his operations helped to make Camden Park celebrated. He entertained eminent scientific men who visited the Colony and bore the reputation of a cultured gentleman. He sent plants to

James Backhouse :''See alsfor two other James Backhouse botanists and nursery owners of York.'' James Backhouse (8 July 1794 – 20 January 1869) was a botanist and missionary for the Quaker church in Australia. His son, also James Backhouse (1825–1890), wa ...

which are now in the Herbarium at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

and 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 ...

. The extensive catalogues of his Camden Park Nursery, published in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857, provide a valuable insight both into the contents of colonial gardens and to the international exchange of plants in the early-to-mid-19th century. 'Aspasia macarthur', bred at Camden Park, was the first Australian cultivar of the camellia. Macarthur is commemorated in the genus ''

Macarthuria ''Macarthuria'' is a genus of dicotyledonous plants belonging to the family Macarthuriaceae, and consists of about 9 species which are endemic to Australia. Description Plants in the genus, ''Macarthuria'', are rigid or wiry herbs or subshrubs. ...

Hugel Hugel & Fils is a winery in Riquewihr, Alsace, France. Hugel & Fils is one of the major producers of Alsace wine, and has been an important force in the Alsace wine industry in its developments during the second half of the 20th century. Hugel & ...

Endl. Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Pressburg, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botan ...

, also in the species: '' Cyathea macarthurii''

F.Muell. 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 Vic ...

and ''

Ptychosperma macarthurii ''Ptychosperma macarthurii'', commonly known as the Macarthur palm, is a species of tree in the palm family Arecaceae. Its native range is northern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland with a number of disjunct populations in the Northern Territ ...

Political life

In 1848 he unsuccessfully sought election for the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

seat representing the Town of Parramatta, but in 1849 he was elected the member for

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, ...

. That seat was abolished when Port Phillip separated as the

Colony of Victoria In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

in 1851 and Macarthur remained in the council as the member for the Pastoral Districts of Lachlan and Lower Darling before resigning in 1855. In 1854 he was a member of a commission for the colony's participation in the Paris International Exhibition of 1855, where his fluency in French was invaluable in resolving initial confusion over the areas allotted to the Australian colonies. A selection of Australian timber specimens from the Exposition are displayed at Camden Park. Shortly afterwards he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. He return to Australia in 1857 and was appointed a member of the Legislative Council in 1864, but he never took a prominent part in politics and was more at home with his pastoral pursuits, having been given stewardship of his family's landmark pastoral property Camden Park. He was also an active in club life and served as the president of the

Australian Club The Australian Club is a private club founded in 1838 and located in Sydney at 165 Macquarie Street. Its membership is men-only and it is the oldest gentlemen's club in the southern hemisphere. "The Club provides excellent dining facilities, ...

. He died unmarried on 29 October 1882. His estate, along with those of his brothers

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and Sir

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, was left to his niece, James' daughter Elizabeth, wife of

Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow (2 August 1833 – 30 January 1882) was born at Trichinopoly in India to surveyor Arthur Pooley Onslow and Rosa Roberta Macleay. In 1838 was sent to New South Wales, where he lived with his grandfather Alexander ...

. After Arthur's death, Elizabeth changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow.

References

* Maiden, J.H. (1908) Records of Australian botanists- (a) General, (b) New South Wales. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales for 1908. 42:60-132 - reproduced a
Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria
Australian National Herbarium.

External links

by William Macarthur, 1844.
Camden Park and the Macarthurs

Colonial Plants Database
Historic Houses Trust of NSW] {{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur, William 1800 births 1882 deaths Knights Bachelor Australian viticulturists 19th-century Australian botanists Australian horticulturists Australian non-fiction writers Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council People educated at Rugby School Australian winemakers 19th-century Australian politicians Macarthur family (Australia)