Guilfoyle, William R.

Description

Agent TypePersonActivities & OccupationsBotanistsHistoryWilliam Guilfoyle was born in 1840 in Chelsea, England. His father migrated to Sydney with his family in 1853 and set up several successful nurseries. After private teaching, Guilfoyle attended Lyndhurst College where he was encouraged to study botany. After graduating he made several tours to northern New South Wales and Queensland collecting specimens and in 1868 he joined the scientific staff of H.M.S. Challenger in the scientific expedition through the South Sea Islands. In 1873, Guilfoyle succeeded Von Mueller when he was appointed curator at the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Inspired by the tropical landscapes he had observed on his tours, Guilfoyle extended and remodelled the gardens, transformed a billabong into a series of lakes, created the Temple of the Winds and designed several summer houses and kiosks. Guilfoyle also managed Government House land and the outer domain. Also renowned for designing private gardens, most notably Dame Nellie Melba's garden. Guilfoyle retired in 1909 and died three years later in 1912.

Item

Guilfoyle sketchbook

Notes on the picturesque in gardens, parks, etc.

Image

Dubylib River, Fiji.

Botanic Gardens, 1901

Accession

[1975.0104] Papers of William Robert Guilfoyle

Names

Given NameWilliamMiddle NameRobertFamily NameGuilfoyle

University of Melbourne Archives

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Guilfoyle, William R.