The Forest Flora of New Zealand

1889

Special Collections QK 463 KK83

Wellington: George Didsbury, Government Printer

It seems Thomas Kirk (1828-98) was destined to be a botanist as both his parents were nursery workers. Born in England, Kirk emigrated and arrived in Auckland in 1863. Initially working as a timber merchant, he became a lecturer of Natural Sciences and an eminent botanist. This Government-commissioned volume was a ‘descriptive account of the economic trees and shrubs’ of New Zealand. This plate of Agathis australis or kauri was drawn by John Boscawen (1851-1937) of the NZ Survey Department.