Wilcox, James Fowler (1823-1881)

Born in Somersetshire, England, 2 nd February, 1823; arrived in Sydney 1823; died at South Grafton, 11 th July, 1881.

He spent most of his time as a naturalist, giving special attention to botany and taxidermy. He accompanied Capt. Owen Stanley in H.M.S. "Blazer," which conveyed Sir John Franklin on his last and ill-fated expedition in 1845. On bis return he was on board H.M.S. "Rattlesnake," under Capt. Stanley as collector in the interests of the Norwich Museum, his period of service with this ship extending from December, l846 to 1850. During the cruise he visited the north and north-east coast of Australia, the south coast of New Guinea, and part of the Arafura Sea. He also visited Brazil, Mauritius, the Cape and Tasmania, then went from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. His ship convoyed the Kennedy Expedition to Rockingham Bay and he remained with the ill-fated leader for 3 weeks. The "Rattlesnake" then went to the Louisades, New Guinea, etc., and the cruise was terminated by the death of Capt. Stanley in Sydney.

Mr. Wilcox was then engaged in natural history pursuits in New South Wales, married in 1851, was engaged in business in Sydney for 5 years and went to South Grafton early in 1856, finally settling there in 1857. He was Commissioner at the Melbourne Exibition of 1866, and exhibited many specimens illustrative of the natural history of the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed Rivers at that Exhibition and also that of Paris, 1867. He was a correspondent of Mueller and a coajutor of Macgillivray and Carron. He made many expeditions on the northern rivers after birds and plants, and with his son, James Clarence, went to New Guinea in 1876 with the same objects in view.

He is commemorated by the plant Pleiococca wilcoxiana, F.v.M.

Source: Maiden, J.H. (1908) Records of Australian botanists- (a) General, (b) New South Wales. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales for 1908. 42:60-132