Overview
European science went hand in hand with European exploration of the world. Naturalists, keen to discover and classify previously unknown plants and animals, went adventuring as part of these expeditions. Joseph Hooker was typical of such scientists, and later led various expeditions himself.
Hooker was a trained botanist. When he was 22 years old, he was appointed naturalist, and assistant surgeon, to Sir James Ross's 1839-43 expedition exploring the Antarctic coast, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the islands of the Southern Ocean. He spent some three months in New Zealand and its offshore islands, collecting over 400 species of plants.
This began a lifelong interest in New Zealand flora. Though he never returned to this country, for many years he corresponded with and encouraged naturalists here, who continued to send him plants for classification.
He eventually became director of London's Kew Gardens, a position he took over from his father. Shortly after that, in 1867, his Handbook of New Zealand flora was published. It was the primary text on New Zealand plants for some forty years. The Hooker cabinet was presented to him around this time, marking his contribution to the development of the science of botany here.
Hooker was a friend of Charles Darwin and a supporter of evolutionary theory. His worldwide travels and contacts meant he had a huge collection of plant specimens. He was particularly interested in the phenomenon of how identical plants appeared in widely separated places.
He later became Sir Joseph Hooker, knighted for his services to science.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database.