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The final person to be examined is Robert Ignaz Lendlmayr von Lendenfeld, a keen alpine
explorer and biologist who studied the natural sciences, zoology and geology in particular, in
Graz between 1878 and 1881 and led numerous ascents (many successful first attempts) in the
Austrian Alps, before turning his attention to Australia in 1881-86 in order to study the native
marine sponges, hydroids and medusans, and explore the Alps of Australia and New Zealand. 202
Lendenfeld and his wife, Anna, left Melbourne on the Arawata on 6 February 1883, arriving at
Bluff on 12 February, Port Chalmers on the 13th and Lyttelton on the 15th. 203 Once in
Christchurch he was met by his “unvergeßlichen Freunde v. Haast”, 204 before embarking on a
month-long excursion to the Tasman Glacier in the Southern Alps within the space of a few
weeks, where he and his wife, while accompanied by Harry Dew, became the first climbers to
successfully ascend Hochstetter Dome on 25 March. 205 The other highlight of their trip were the
fiords of Milford Sound which he labelled the “Juwel der Antipoden”. 206 After their return to
Christchurch on 2 April, Lendenfeld worked for a time on New Zealand sponges at the
Canterbury Museum, and was later appointed as lecturer of natural science at the Lincoln College
of Agriculture. On 4 October he became a member of the Canterbury Philosophical Society and
was elected onto the Council for the following year at the annual meeting on 1 November, but
ultimately vacated his position at Lincoln after only a few months and departed for Sydney on the
Hauroto on 4 January 1884, 207 where he was commissioned to write a monograph on the
Australian sponges. 208
202
See also, for example, “Prof. Robert von Lendenfeld”, in: Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie 36 (1914): 187f.;
David Sandeman, “Robert von Lendenfeld: biologist, alpinist and scholar”, in: From Berlin to the Burdekin: The
German Contribution to the Development of Australian Science, Exploration and the Arts. Eds. David Walker and
Jürgen Tampke. Sydney: New South Wales University Press, 1991, 67-77; Robert Hösch, “Lendlmayer von
Lendenfeld, Robert”, in: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1850. Vol. 5. Ed. Österreichische Akademie
der Wissenschaften. Wien; Köln; Graz: Böhlau, 1972, 129; Diemar Henze, “Lendenfeld, Robert von”, in: EEEE 3,
210.
203
ST 13 Feb (1883): 2; ODT 14 Feb (1883): 2; LT 16 Feb (1883): 2.
204
Robert von Lendenfeld, Australische Reise. Innsbruck: Verlag der Wagner’schen Universitäts-Buchhandlung,
1892, 194.
205
Ibid., 174f., 191, 265-79; “Alpine Exploration”, in: LT 3 April (1883): 5; “Dr von Lendenfeld’s Journey: Ascent
of Hochstetter Dome”, in: LT 5 April (1883): 5; W. S. Green, “Dr. R. v. Lendenfeld’s Explorations in the Southern
Alps of New Zealand”, in: The Alpine Journal 12:85-92 (1886): 162-67. Although only Lendenfeld Peak (also known
as Mt Lendenfeld) was named after him following this feat, he is responsible for naming a number of other
geographical features in the Southern Alps.
206
Robert von Lendenfeld, Neuseeland. Berlin: Schall, 1900, 172; cf. Lendenfeld, Australische Reise, 191.
207
LT 5 Jan (1884): 4; The Sydney Morning Herald 15 Jan (1884): 6. During their stay, the Lendenfelds also gave
birth to a baby girl named Helene on 1 October 1883 at Armagh St in Christchurch (Birth Registration, ref no.
G/1883/3947/-/2, Central Registry for Births, Deaths and Marriages).
208
NZJS 1:11 Sept (1883): 514f.; 1:12 Nov (1883): 576; 2:1 Jan (1884): 34; 2:2 March (1884): 78f., 85; Robert von
Lendenfeld, A Monograph of the Horny Sponges. London: Published for the Royal Society by Trübner, 1889, 1-3.
327