The botanist Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Müller had an unparalleled influence on Victoria's scientific and horticultural development. He was born in Rostok, Germany in 1825 (he later changed his name to Mueller). He studied pharmacy and received his doctorate at the University of Kiel in 1847. He came to Australia for health reasons, arriving at Port Adelaide with his two sisters on the Hermann von Beckerath on 18 December 1847. He moved to Melbourne in 1852 and was appointed Government Botanist. He travelled widely in Victoria and was a member of the 16 month A. C. Gregory expedition to northern Australia in 1855-7. Due to his skill as a botanist, he was appointed Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens in 1857. During this time he oversaw the cultivation and distribution of plants, as well as seeds, throughout the state, including to many regional Botanic Gardens. He became a memer of the Royal Society of London at the age of only 36 and received its gold medal in 1888. He was made a baron by the king of Wurtemberg in1871 and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1879. Unfortunately, he became unpopular with Melbourne society and was replaced as Director of the Botanic Gardens by William Guilfoyle in 1873. He died in 1896.

(Source: www.pacsoa.org.au/places/People/mueller.html)