Joseph Maiden Print Page

The pavilion was erected by public subscription in memory of Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Joseph Maiden. The pavilion was erected in 1929 and the dedication and unveiling ceremony was held in 1930. 

Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 - 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the Eucalyptus genus. Maiden became the recognised authority on Acacia and Eucalyptus. He published about 45 papers, and his eight-volume A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus remained a major reference for over fifty years.

In 1896, Maiden was appointed Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, succeeding Charles Moore, who had been one of his botanical mentors. He immediately set about establishing the colony's first herbarium, as well as a museum, library and Sydney’s first playground.

Warm tributes to the life and work of the late Mr. J. H. Maiden, director of the Botanic Gardens, were paid by speakers at the dedication of a shelter pavilion and the unveiling of a memorial tablet by the Lieutenant-Governor in the Botanic Gardens yesterday. Among those present were members of the late Mr. Maiden's family, including Mrs. J. T. Paton, Dr. and Mrs. Brown Craig, Mr. and Mrs. George Garnock, Miss Dorothy Maiden, and his little granddaughters, Misses Lucy and Ann Brown Craig. Speaking on behalf of the Government, the Premier (Mr. Bavin) said that Mr. Maiden was not only a great scientist and distinguished Public servant, but a good and loyal man, whose work brought honour to Australia. As in the case of many scientists, the value of his work was not generally known to the public, nor did he seek public recognition. To most people the Botanic Gardens represented a most restful and alluring retreat from the dust and bustle of the city, and this in itself was sufficient justification for them while they served such a useful purpose. But the usefulness of the Gardens did not stop there. The staff played a most useful and practical part in the life of the State. The plants identified totalled 45,000, and the economic value of this work lay in the fact that the staff was able to advise farmers on their relative values. Last year over 200,000 trees were despatched to various parts of the country. In the herbarium there were housed 54,000 specimens of exotic palms, comprising an historical record of Australian botany from the earliest times. Mr. Maiden was not only a distinguished botanist, but an historian of mark, and it was fitting that the memorial should be situated within 200 yards of the spot where the first wheat crop was planted at the direction of Governor Phillip, and close to the memorial of Allan Cunningham, Australia's greatest botanist. It was on that spot, too, where the horticultural shows were once held and the regimental band played once a week to audiences beneath many of the same which they saw about them.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 20 May 1930. 

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