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Anna Friederich
Born
Anna Rühl

Greifswald, Germany
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
Cover of Deutsche verb-tabellen or the accidence of the German verb : systematically arranged and simplified, 1886.

Madame Anna Friederich, née Rühl[1] was a governess and naturalist who migrated to Australia in 1885. She was highly active for a decade on the continent as a German-language educator and science communicator for adults and children alike.[2]

Early life

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Little of Anna Friederich's life is known before arriving in Australia. She was born in Greifswald,[1] and by 1865 was qualified to work as a governess (Erzieherin) in Prussian Stralsund.[1][2][3]

Work in Australia

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Friederich arrived in Sydney in 1885 before travelling further on to Melbourne.[2] In October 1886 she passed the matriculation for the University of Melbourne for geography and botany, with first-class honours in French and German, however she was not considered to be a formal candidate.[4][5][6]

While she was initially appointed as a teacher at Ruyton Girls' School in Kew,[2] by 1887 she was teaching German at Mrs Adderley's Park Place Ladies School in South Yarra.[7] She also advertised a German literature class at the Melbourne Athenaeum,[2][8] and her availability as a private tutor.[9] By 1888 she moved to Randwick, Sydney, to teach German at Lachford College.[2][10] Finally, she taught at the Canargroo School in Bathurst, before returning to Melbourne by 1892.[11][12]

She was a prolific writer of popular science pieces in newspapers, and member of multiple natural history and scientific organisations in Victoria and New South Wales. These included the Natural History Association of New South Wales (the predecessor of the Field Naturalist's Society in which she also participated),[13], and the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria.[2][14] She appears in records in 1891 in Bathurst, New South Wales as a member of the Bathurst Science Society, and was elected to the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia in 1892.[2][11]

She was also associated with the Ministering Children's League in Bathurst, becoming the Canargroo branch's honorary secretary.[15][16] In 1889 she received the silver humanity medal from the Bands of Mercy.[17]

Writing and specimen collecting

[edit]

In 1886, as a self-described "professor of languages," she published Friederich's Deutsche Verb-Tabellen: The accidence of the German verb, a practical aide-mémoire with George Robertson & Company[2][18][19][a][3][b]

Friederich's English-language writings appeared in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser as part of its reporting on the activities of the Natural History Association from 1888 to 1889, including:

  • "Wildflowers and Poets," 1888.[20]
  • "Orchids in Australia," part 1[21] and part 2 [22]
  • "Mosquitos," 1889.[23]
  • "The German Stag," 1889.[24]

And two serialised columns:

In 1888, she donated insect specimens to the Australian Museum.[4][25][26] Friederich also collected botanical specimens for Ferdinand von Mueller in New South Wales between 1887 and 1888, of which 46 are still extant and held at the National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.[25][27] She also collected plants around Portarlington, Victoria, and exhibited her collections of "pressed flowers" with the Natural History Association.[28][29]

Disappearance from Australian records

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It has been assumed that she left Australia around 1893, as she disappears from records at this time.[2] Other aspects of her life remain unknown.

Notes

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  1. ^ A pamphlet from Madame A. Friederich was received by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria in 1887, which agrees with the statement in the Australische Zeitung, that she was the author.
  2. ^ The title page differs from the cover, where the book is titled Deutsche verb-tabellen or the accidence of the German verb : systematically arranged and simplified by A. Friederich, Professor of Languages, for the use of schools, private tuition, and preparation for matriculation. A practical aide-mémoire.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "No. 184 Personal-Chronik der öffentlichen Behörden.". Amts-blatt der Preußischen Regierung zu Stralsund: 1864 (in German). Stralsund: Preuß. Regierung zu Stralsund. 1864. p. 40.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Maroske, Sara. "Friederich, Anna (c. 1845 - )". The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Swinburne University of Technology. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Mitgetheilt". Australische Zeitung. July 6, 1887. p. 6. Retrieved November 14, 2025. Frau A. Friederich in Melbourne, Verfasserin des practischen Handbüchleins ,,Deutsche Verbtabellen", ist die erste Deutsche, welche, ohne englische Erziehung genossen zu haben, das Matriculation-Examen mit Ehren an der Melbourner Universität bestanden hat. Dies beweist, daß sie des Englischen vollkommen mächtig ist, denn, als Garantie für ihre Kenntnisse, hat sie das Staatszeugniß der preußischen Regierung und brillante Privat-Atteste.
  4. ^ a b Maroske, Sara; Vaughan, Alison; Le Get, Rebecca (2025). "Additions and corrections to a biographical register of Ferdinand Mueller's female plant collectors, and observations on the limitations of specimen databases" (PDF). Muelleria. 44: 11-22.
  5. ^ "Detailed list of successful candidates". The Australasian. Vol. XLIII, no. 1109. Victoria, Australia. July 2, 1887. p. 15. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Matriculation examination: October term 1886". The Australasian. Vol. XLII, no. 1084. Victoria, Australia. January 8, 1887. p. 15. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via National Library of Australia. Note - Madame Anna Friederich was placed by the examiners first in the first-class in the above list (French and German), but her name cannot appear, inasmuch as she is not a candidate for matriculation.
  7. ^ "Advertising". The Australasian. Vol. XLIII, no. 1111. Victoria, Australia. July 16, 1887. p. 45. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 12, 538. Victoria, Australia. September 1, 1886. p. 7. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 727. New South Wales, Australia. August 18, 1888. p. 3. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVI, no. 1485. New South Wales, Australia. December 22, 1888. p. 1271. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ a b "LOCAL AND GENERAL". National Advocate. Vol. 2, no. 162. New South Wales, Australia. April 20, 1891. p. 2. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 14, 387. Victoria, Australia. August 5, 1892. p. 1. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "NATURAL HISTORY". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLIX, no. 1556. New South Wales, Australia. May 3, 1890. p. 988. Retrieved November 21, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. Melbourne: A.H. Massina & Co., General Printers. 1886. p. 97, 98, 114. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  15. ^ "SYDNEY ITEMS". Illustrated Sydney News. Vol. XXVIII, no. 19. New South Wales, Australia. September 12, 1891. p. 5. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Advertising". National Advocate. Vol. 2, no. 291. New South Wales, Australia. September 22, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals". Australian Town And Country Journal. Vol. XXXIX, no. 1041. New South Wales, Australia. December 28, 1889. p. 12. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ Friederich, A. (1886). Deutsche verb-tabellen or the accidence of the German verb : systematically arranged and simplified. Melbourne: George Robertson & Company. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  19. ^ The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. Melbourne: A.H. Massina & Co., General Printers. 1887. p. 145. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  20. ^ "Wild Flowers and Poets". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVI, no. 1475. New South Wales, Australia. October 13, 1888. p. 779. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "Orchids in Australia". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVI, no. 1476. New South Wales, Australia. October 20, 1888. p. 831. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "Orchids in Australia". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVI, no. 1477. New South Wales, Australia. October 27, 1888. p. 882. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "Mosquitos". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVII, no. 1489. New South Wales, Australia. January 19, 1889. p. 131. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "The German Stag (Cervus elaphus)". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVII, no. 1494. New South Wales, Australia. February 23, 1889. p. 395. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ a b Maroske, Sara; Vaughan, Alison (2014). "Ferdinand Mueller's female plant collectors: a biographical register" (PDF). Muelleria. 32: 92-172.
  26. ^ Australian Museum. (Report of the trustees for 1888.) (PDF). New South Wales: Parliament of New South Wales. 1889. p. 10. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  27. ^ "Occurrence records". The Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  28. ^ "Monthly Conversazione". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVII, no. 1490. New South Wales, Australia. January 26, 1889. p. 187. Retrieved November 21, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "Natural History Association". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLVII, no. 1494. New South Wales, Australia. February 23, 1889. p. 395. Retrieved November 21, 2025 – via National Library of Australia.