Gustav Weindorfer

Gustav Weindorfer (23 February 1874 – 5 May 1932) was an Austrian-born Australian amateur botanist, lodge-keeper and promoter of the Cradle Mountains National Park.

Weindorfer was born in Spittal an der Drau, Carinthia, an alpine province of Austria-Hungary. His father was a senior civil servant before becoming involved in the management of large agricultural estates in African colonies. Gustav was well educated, training at an agricultural college with the aim to also enter the field of agricultural management. He had some formal botany training in Austria. Weindorfer tried several and varied positions, eventually deciding to emigrate to Australia.

He arrived in Melbourne on 13 June 1900. Gustav obtained a clerical position with the Austrian Lloyd Steamship Company. A desk job never fully satisfied Gustav. In 1901, his social standing was somewhat elevated when he became Honorary Chancellor of the Austro-Hungarian Consulate. During that year and the next, almost every weekend Weindorfer would stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, or go walking in the nearby bushland with friends. On 9 September 1901, Gustav went to a meeting of the Victorian Field Naturalists Club and immediately became an enthusiastic member. One outcome of his extensive involvement with the club was the discovery of a new pea plant, now named for him, Pultenaea weindorferi.

Another was his meeting with Kate Cowle. Kate had recently moved from Tasmania, where her family had a farm at Kindred, near Devonport. Their shared enthusiasm for botany led to their marriage. The wedding occurred in Stowport on 1 February 1906. A large part of their honeymoon was spent camped on Mount Roland with the aim of making an extensive botany collection. This would have been the first time Gustav would have had a clear view of Cradle Mountain. Kate and Gustav purchased a farm at Kindred and Gustav proved to be a capable farmer.

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