Queensland Herbarium

The history of the Herbarium as an institution starts in 1855 with the appointment of Walter Hill as Superintendent of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, four years before Queensland separated from New South Wales as a colony.

In 1859, with Separation, Hill was appointed Colonial Botanist as well as remaining Director of the Gardens, a position he was to hold until 1881.

Bailey remained in office for 34 years, until his death in 1915, and energetically worked at building up the herbarium collection through correspondence, exchange and numerous expeditions throughout the state.

Over the years, the Herbarium has gone through numerous departmental reorganizations and the officer in charge has been known by a variety of titles, from Colonial Botanist through Government Botanist, Director and Chief Botanist: On May 8, 2017, The Guardian reveals that 105 herbarium plates dating from the middle of the 19th century were, when they were loaned for study by the french Muséum national d'histoire naturelle to the Queensland Herbarium, destroyed by Australian customs officers indiscriminately enforcing Australian laws aimed at preventing the introduction of invasive species.

Michel Guiraud, director of the French Muséum's collections, specifies that this is an irreplaceable loss : the lot containing in particular six type specimens which are used to describe a plant species.