Peter Good
Encyclopedia
Peter Good was the gardener assistant to botanist Robert Brown
on the voyage of HMS Investigator under Matthew Flinders
, during which the coast of Australia
was charted, and various plants collected.
, Scotland
, when Joseph Banks offered him the appointment as gardener to Brown, at a salary of £105 a year.
collection during the voyage, and also collected plant specimens for both his own and Brown's collections. He died during the voyage, and his plant collection was incorporated into Brown's. Brown immensely admired his work ethic, and named the plant genus Goodia
in his honour. Banksia goodii
(Good's Banksia) is also named after him.
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
on the voyage of HMS Investigator under Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
, during which the coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was charted, and various plants collected.
Biography
Good had worked as a foreman at Kew Royal Gardens, during which time he had assisted botanist Christopher Smith in transporting a shipment of English plants to Calcutta. He was working as a kitchen gardener at Wemyss CastleWemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle is situated on the cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland.- History :Accounts date the construction of the castle to the year 1421 when Sir John Wemyss decided to build a fortified castle to replace one destroyed by the Duke of Rothesay at...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, when Joseph Banks offered him the appointment as gardener to Brown, at a salary of £105 a year.
The voyage
Good made an extensive seedSeed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
collection during the voyage, and also collected plant specimens for both his own and Brown's collections. He died during the voyage, and his plant collection was incorporated into Brown's. Brown immensely admired his work ethic, and named the plant genus Goodia
Goodia
Goodia is a genus in the pea family, Fabaceae. The genus consists of two species, both native to Australia:*Goodia lotifolia Salisb. - Golden Tip*Goodia medicaginea F.Muell. - Western Golden-tip-External links:**...
in his honour. Banksia goodii
Banksia goodii
Banksia goodii, commonly known as Good's Banksia, is an endangered shrub of Southwest Western Australia.Good's Banksia grows as a low shrub, either prostrate or with stems up to twenty centimetres high. The leaves are dark green with a prominent yellow midrib, and are held erect. They may be up...
(Good's Banksia) is also named after him.
See also
- List of gardener-botanist explorers of the Enlightenment
- European and American voyages of scientific explorationEuropean and American voyages of scientific explorationThe era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment...
Works
- Journal of Peter Good, Gardener on Matthew Flinders' Voyage to Terra Australis, 1801–03, Stationery Office Books, September 1981, ISBN 0-11-983258-5
External links
- Natural History Museum The Flinders 1801–1803 HMS Investigator Rock Collection