Biographical entry Caley, George (1770 - 1829)

Summary

George Caley was sent by Joseph Banks to collect botanical specimens in New South Wales. He arrived in Sydney in 1800 and was superintendent of the botanic gardens at Parramatta until 1808.

Details

Born Craven, Yorkshire, England, 10 June 1770. Died Bayswater, England, 23 May 1829. Worked in his father's stables; studied botany and became associated with the Manchester School of Botanists; work in Kew and other gardens 1795-98; sent to New South Wales by Sir Joseph Banks (q.v.) 1798 as a collector; arrived Sydney 1800 and allotted a house at Parramatta where he could maintain a botanical garden; collected mainly botanical specimens but also birds and animals; made a number of excursions which gave him a detailed knowledge of the country surrounding the settlement; appointment terminated 1808; returned to England and lived on a small pension from Banks till 1816; superintendent, botanical gardens, St Vincent, West Indies 1816-22.

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

• George Caley - Records, 1801 - 1940, ML MSS 960; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• George Caley - Records, 1801 - 1808, FM 4/2568; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• George Caley - Records, 1809 - 1818, FM 5/402-451; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• Ida Louisa Lee - Records, 1819 - 1937, ML MSS 75; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• Joseph Banks - Records, 1774 - 1814, MS Q158-161; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• R. Else-Mitchell - Records, 1939 - 1951, ML MSS 1265; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

• Caley, George, The Devil's Wilderness: George Caley's Journey to Mount Banks, 1804, E. J. Andrews, Blubber Head Press, Hobart, 1984, 160 pp. Details
• Webb, Joan, George Caley, Nineteenth Century Naturalist, Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney, 1995, 197 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Else-Mitchell, R., 'Caley, George (1770-1829), naturalist and explorer', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 194-195. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010180b.htm. Details
• Secord, Anne, 'George Caley, 1770-1829', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. Details

Journal Articles

• Andrews, Alan E.J., 'Mount Hunter and Beyond: with Hunter, Bass, Tench, Wilson, Barrallier, Caley, King, and Macquarie, 1790-1815', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, vol. 76, no. 1, 1990, pp. 3-15. Details
• Maiden, J.H., 'Records of Australian Botanists - (a) General, (b) New South Wales', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. xlii, 1908, pp. 60-132. Details
• Maiden, J.H., 'Records of Tasmanian Botanists', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 1909, pp. 9-29. Details
• Maiden, J.H., 'Records of Australian Botanists', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. lv, 1921, pp. 60-132; 150-169. Details
• Mitchell, R. Else, 'George Caley: His Life and Work', Royal Australian Historical Society, vol. xxv, 1939, pp. 438-542. Details
• Webb, Joan B., 'George Caley - Robert Brown's Collecting Partner', Australian Garden History, vol. 14, no. 3, 2002, pp. 15-16. Details
• Whitley, Gilbert P., 'Some Early Naturalists and Collectors in Australia', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, vol. xix, 1933, pp. 291-304. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Caley, George', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-798510. Details