Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria
Australian National Herbarium
Biographical Notes
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Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria | |
Born in late 1858 in present Stawell, Victoria; died on 29 May 1889 Roebourne, the Pilbarra, Western Australia (aged 30).
He was born in Pleasant Creek (now Stawell), a western Victorian goldfield, in
late 1858. He was licenced as a surveyor in Victoria.
Appointed to the Survey Department of Western Australia in March 1884, he was
engaged in the Kimberley in 1884 and 1885, after gold was first discovered in the
vicinity. He was second in command of a survey of the Cambridge Gulf region, from
March 1885.
He contributed to the survey of the future town of Wyndham in April 1886, a port
established to service Halls Creek and other goldfields, and led an expedition to
survey the lower, northward flowing portion of the Ord River from May 1886, which
took five months.
In June-July 1887 he surveyed the township of Halls Creek and nearby rivers before
moving to the Ord River and surveying upstream (westward) from the area where the
River turned northwards.
He was a collector for Ferdinand von Mueller and the Melbourne Herbarium
holds a substantial collection of his specimens covering some dozens of species.
All the 1886 specimens were collected from Cambridge Gulf, Wyndham or
surrounds. The location of 1887 and 1888 collections was generally given as
'''Kimberley district' although a few are more specific.
One notable collection is the first official
record of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in Australia, collected 'Kimberley district. Ord [River] near Wyndham track' (MEL 1548562A). His field book shows he was
surveying the Ord River [some 90 km nor-nor-east of the Hall's Creek settlement]
near the Wyndham track on 29 July 1887.
In October 1888 he was appointed provisional Warden of the 'Pilbarra' goldfields and
a Justice of the Peace but died of 'heat apoplexy' in May 1889 at the age of 30.
His remains were sent to Melbourne for burial, and the funeral was held at St. Kilda Cemetery on 14 July 1889.
Source: Extracted from:
Pers.Comm. email M.Friedel-M.Fagg 21/10/2026
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/nyulasy-charles-william-14023
West Australian newspaper, 27 June 1889, p 2
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Fri 12 Jul 1889
Page 1 - Family Notices
Portrait Photo: none known.
Data from 291 specimens
