The Unassuming Botanist -Friedrich Heinrich Hermann Schultz

Our first meeting for next year will be on Monday 16 February 2026 when BHS member Ray Dundon will tell the intriguing story of his great-great grandfather Friedrich Schultze, who amongst many deeds, accompanied George Goyder as the naturalist on his 1869 expedition to survey Darwin.

Friedrich Heinrich Hermann Schultze was an apothecarist who immigrated to Australia from Germany in 1850. He immediately showed an interest in natural history, and became an avid collector of animal, bird, fish and plant specimens of his new home. He was nominated by Dr Richard Schomburgk (Director of the Botanic Gardens) and Frederick George Waterhouse (the first Curator of the SA Museum) as Naturalist to accompany George Goyder on his 1869 expedition to survey Darwin, where he was a prodigious collector of specimens – many of which were sent to collections overseas (such as to Kew Gardens).