Thomas Cheeseman: the quiet captain of early New Zealand science

Abstract

ABSTRACTThomas Cheeseman (1845–1923) was one of New Zealand’s most important botanists and museum administrators in the country’s late colonial period (c. 1875–1914). He had a lengthier career as a working scientist than almost all his peers; served longer than any other of the great New Zealand museum directors of this era; and also built up extensive lines of communication with colleagues both locally and overseas. In contrast, however, to New Zealand’s other great scientific leaders of the day, Cheeseman has not enjoyed the same level of posthumous attention and is yet to be the subject of an extended critical study. This short communication takes a step towards remedying this deficiency by reviewing Cheeseman’s more notable achievements and offering explanations for his remarkable professional longevity.