Koncordie Amalie Dietrich Koncordie Amalie Dietrich (née Nelle) (26 May 1821 – 9 March 1891)[1] was a German naturalist who was best known for her work in Australia from 1863 to 1872, collecting specimens for the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg.

[2] Dietrich was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents — such as Ludwig Becker, Hermann Beckler, William Blandowski, Wilhelm Haacke, Diedrich Henne, Gerard Krefft, Johann Luehmann, Johann Menge, Carl Mücke (a.k.a.

Ruemker), Moritz Richard Schomburgk, Richard Wolfgang Semon, Karl Theodor Staiger, George Ulrich, Eugene von Guérard, Robert von Lendenfeld, Ferdinand von Mueller, Georg von Neumayer, and Carl Wilhelmi — who brought their "epistemic traditions" to Australia, and not only became "deeply entangled with the Australian colonial project", but also were "intricately involved in imagining, knowing and shaping colonial Australia" (Barrett, et al., 2018, p. 2).

[3] Whilst in Queensland, Australia, Dietrich "actively sought fresh Aboriginal skeletons for her European clients”.

[4] While this is most likely part of a local legend that presents Dietrich as the 'Angel of Black Death, it is accepted that she did send the human remains of several Indigenous Australians to Hamburg.

Her contribution to colonialism – pertaining to both the anthropological as well as the botanical aspect – are the subject of recent academic debates.

[5] Amalie Dietrich was born in Siebenlehn, Saxony, German Confederation.

With no formal training she learnt all she could from him about collecting and they planned careers working as naturalists.

[6] Some of the delicate alpine flowers she collected in this period can be seen on display in the Natural History Museum in Freiburg.

[6] Dietrich spent the years from 1863 – 1872 in Queensland, Australia where she collected a wide range of species as well as artefacts created by Indigenous Australians.

Species whose type specimens she collected include: Aongstroemia dietrichiae Müll.Hal.

(1872) – Macromitrium aurescens HampeSargassum aciculare Grunow (1874) – Sargassum filifolium var.

However, her collections continue to be an important resource in herbaria around the world (MEL, B, BM, BRSL, HBG, JE, K, L, MO, P, US, W).

[12] Dietrich Place in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in recognition of her work in Australia.