Kirton, William (1822–1894)
Baptised on 10 March 1822 in Denton, Lincolnshire, England (parents Samuel and Susan); emigrated to Australia, arriving on 25 May 1849 on the Agenoria (one of four gardeners, apparently as part of an assisted migration scheme); died in North Bulli, New South Wales, on 21 August 1894.
A pioneer gardener in the Illawarra district; trialled growing sugar cane at Bulli in the 1870s. Specimens collected by Kirton are held in the Melbourne and Sydney National Herbaria.
Honoured in the names Eucalyptus kirtoniana F. Muell. (1879) (now thought to be a hybrid) and Elaeocarpus kirtonii F.Muell. ex F.M.Bailey (1886). Kirton collected material of these plants from the Illawarra and supplied it to Mueller.
Sources:
- Bayley, William A. (2002) Black Diamonds - History of the Bulli district, New South Wales. Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, 124p. Available online at https://ro.uow.edu.au/ihspubs/5
- FindMyPast website, https://www.findmypast.com.au/ [baptism and family details; paid access only]
- Hall, N. (1978) Botanists of the eucalypts. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne.
- Kirton, W. (9 February 1885) Letter to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1885-02-09. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/text/Mueller letters/1880-9/1885/85-02-09-final/, accessed 20 March 2023
- Kirton, W. (4 March 1885) Letter to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1885-03-04. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/text/Mueller letters/1880-9/1885/85-03-04-final/, accessed 20 March 2023
- Kirton, W. (7 March 1885) Letter to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1885-03-07 [85.03.07a]. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/text/Mueller letters/1880-9/1885/85-03-07a-final/, accessed 20 March 2023
- NSW State Archives collection, Agenoria passenger list, arrival 25 May 1849, available online at https://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.aspx?Page=NRS5316/4_4786/Agenoria_25%20May%201849/4_478600279.jpg&No=9
- 'Shamrock', "The Scrap Album" [death notice], Illawarra Mercury newspaper, 23 August 1894, p. 2. Available online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/132196512
- 'Shamrock', "Old Times", Illawarra Mercury newspaper, 3 December 1902, p. 2. Available online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/132127687
- Thomson, E.D. (28 May 1849), Immigrants per "Agenoria", Supplement to the New South Wales Government Gazette. Available online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230366077
