 |
|
Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria
Australian National Herbarium
Biographical Notes
|  |
Davidson, Alexander (fl.1886-87)
In writing about William A. Sayer, (fl. 1886-1897) it is reported that:
"Late in 1886 and in 1887 Sayer revisited northern Queensland in company with Alexander Davidson; this time they ascended the Bellenden Ker ranges and collected a number of striking new species, including Dracophyllum sayeri and Rhododendron lochae."
The identity of Alexander Davidson, has for a long time been a mystery.
Now it seems that he was a visiting English tourist:
(The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.)
Sat 9 Jul 1887,
Page 71)
Mount Bellenden-Ker
It will be remembered that some time ago
Messrs. Sayers and Davidson successfully made
the ascent (the only one effected) of Mount
Bellenden-Ker. The subjoined account of the
botanical result of their trip is given in the
Gardeners' Chronicle of the 23rd April:
-
We learn that Mr. W. Sayer, an emissary of
the botanical department of Victoria presided
over by Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller,
accompanied by an English tourist - Mr.
Alexander Davidson - succeeded lately in
ascending Mount Bellenden-Ker, the highest
mountain in tropical Australia.
They had to
cut their track for many miles through dense
jungles of virgin forest, and they had previously
to encounter the hostility of the savages. Two
cataracts of considerable magnitude were discovered during the ascent.
This mountain has
a particular horticultural interest, it having
been named at the suggestion of Robert
Brown (like Mount Dryander) during Flinders's
expedition in honour of a botanist - Mr. Bellenden-Ker — the great investigator of iridaceous
and amaryllideous plants in the early part of
the century. . . "
Alexander Davison disappears from the records except for an entry in the Brisbane Shipping News [The Brisbane Courier (Qld.)
Thu 22 Mar 1888
Page 3 -
SHIPPING] that "Alexander Davidson" is a passenger on the ship 'Rockton A.U.S.N.' bound for Sydney and Melbourne – it might be the same person.
Note:
Some references give Alexander Davidson as the person commemorated in the genus name 'Davidsonia', this is not the case, it seems most likely that this genus name commemorates John Ewen Davidson.
Source: Extracted from: Hall, N. (1978) Botanists of the eucalypts.
CSIRO, Melbourne
C. FRENCH, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 167, March, 1908 - A NATURALIST'S HEALTH TRIP TO NORTHERN
QUEENSLAND.
George, A.S. (2009) Australian Botanist's Companion, Four Gables Press, WA.
The Queenslander (Brisbane)
Sat 9 Jul 1887
Page 71
Mount Bellenden-Ker.
The Brisbane Courier (Qld.)
Thu 22 Mar 1888
Page 3
SHIPPING.
Portrait Photo: none known.
Collecting localities for 'Davidson, A.' (filtered by date) from AVH (2025)
Data from 12 specimens
Australian National Herbarium - updated
10 January, 2026
by webmaster (cpbr-info@anbg.gov.au)
