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Allan CunninghamPrint Page 
The marble tablet commemorates explorer and botanist Allan Cunningham (1791 - 1839).
The tablet was originally unveiled in St Andrew`s Scots Church, Sydney but was transferred to St Andrew`s Rose Bay when the church was demolished.
Allan Cunningham became a member of that elite group of people who explored the eastern part of Australia in the eighteen hundreds. Early in his Australian adventures, he joined John Oxley and Philip Parker King in several explorations. He assisted with all sorts of discoveries both botanical and geographical. Later he became an explorer and his most famous geographic discovery was the Darling Downs.
He was one of the most important early collectors of Australian plants, working for Sir Joseph Banks back in London and, in 1817, he began the first of four sea voyages with Phillip Parker King to survey the whole of the Australian coastline. He also collected plants in inland New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland and collected some of the oldest trees growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
He died in 1839 (aged 47) and was buried in the Devonshire Street Cemetery, where Central Station now stands.
Tribute to the late Mr Allan Cunningham.— A handsome tablet of white and black marble has been erected in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, sacred to the memory of Mr Allan Cunningham, late colonial botanist. It has been executed at the marble of manufactory of Mrs Clewett, of Pitt-street, and is a credit to colonial workmanship.
Australian (Sydney), 28 November 1839.
Location
| Address: | Dover Road, St Andrew`s Scots Presbyterian Church, Rose Bay, 2029 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.870886 Long: 151.271262 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Exploration |
| Link: | http://artuccino.com/Allan_Cunningh… |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 1839 |
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ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, F.L.S. M.R.G.S.
Associated In The Pursuit Of Botanical Discovery
With Oxley, In Exploring The Interior Of New Holland,
With King, In Four Times Circumnavigating Its Coasts,
And By Subsequent Personal Research, Having More
Fully Developed The Geography, And Flora, Of The
Northern Districts Of This Colony, And Of Norfolk
Island, And New Zealand, He Has Left Enduring
Monuments Of Devotion To The Cause Of Science, And Of
Eminence In Those Branches Which He Most Assiduously Cultivated.
Frank, Unaffected, Firm In Principle, With Warm
Feelings, Tempered By A Most Kind And Benevolent
Heart, Deservedly Beloved By His Friends, Some Of
Them, In The Foremost Rank Of Science In England,
France, And Germany, He Died, In Unrepining
Submission To The Will Of God: And In A Calm
Dependance, On The Merits Of His Adorable Redeemer.
27th June 1839. Aged 48.
