Lauren Davis
New digs for the National Herbarium of NSW Home to over 1 million residents and counting...
The National Herbarium of New South Wales has officially relocated from its long-time home in the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) Sydney to the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan, marking a new chapter in its 169-year history.
months or even years for the specimens to come
E
from Banks and Solander in Botany Bay,” Dr
to them. And with a collection that includes both rare and historic specimens, that’s a big advantage. “The oldest specimen in the collection is from 1769 — we have a few specimens collected
now and as it expands in future. Furthermore, the
Summerell said. “And then specimens collected
garden is already home to the Australian PlantBank,
by Leichhardt, by Cunningham, by Robert Brown
which has since 2013 served as the largest native
on Matthew Flinders’ voyage — all of the great
plant conservation seed bank in the country and
exploratory trips in the early days of the colony
stablished in 1853, the herbarium has
played a key part in helping to restore certain
usually included a naturalist/botanist. And 88–89%
grown from an initial collection of around 1800
species to the wild following the devastating Black
of the flora is endemic to the country and not seen
native plant specimens to over 1 million today.
Summer bushfires.
anywhere else.”
With more than 8000 new specimens being added
The relocation of the herbarium’s collection
In instances where new specimens are added to
to the collection every year, the Sydney facility
has been no mean feat. As noted by Dr Brett
the collection, these go through a strict quarantine
was running low on space and also experiencing
Summerell, Chief Botanist and Director of Research
process to make sure they don’t bring any pests
problems with mould and insects. Thus, the
at the Australian Institute of Botanical Science,
with them — a process which incorporates both
momentous decision was made to move the
“You can imagine moving 1 million specimens —
entire collection to a brand new facility in Mount
and knowing at every point in the transportation
Annan, located around 60 km south-west of the
process exactly where each particular specimen
Sydney CBD.
is, because we can’t afford to get them mixed up.”
The Australian Botanic Garden was in many
This resulted in the decision to digitise the whole
ways an obvious fit for the herbarium’s new home.
collection, photographing each specimen at very
As one of three gardens owned by the Royal Botanic
high resolution — “almost as good as looking
Gardens and Domain Trust estate (the others being
down the microscope”, according to Dr Summerell.
RBG Sydney and the Blue Mountains Botanic
Furthermore, these images will be publicly
Garden in Mount Tomah), it meant the collection
accessible to researchers all around the world,
would stay on the estate’s land. The garden also sits
meaning the specimens in many cases will not need
on a massive 416 ha site, providing ample space for
to be shipped to other institutions as they have been
the purpose-built facility — appropriately inspired
in the past — minimising the potential for damage
by a waratah seed pod — to store the collection
en route and saving researchers from waiting
12 | LAB+LIFE SCIENTIST - Apr/May 2022
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