# George Caley

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{{Short description|English botanist and explorer in Australia (1770–1829)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name        = George Caley
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1770|06|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Craven](/source/Craven_District), [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire), England
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1829|05|23|1770|06|10|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
| occupation  = [Botanist](/source/Botanist) and [explorer](/source/explorer)
| known_for   = ''[Caleana](/source/Caleana)'', ''[Grevillea caleyi](/source/Grevillea_caleyi)'', ''Viola caleyana'', ''[Banksia caleyi](/source/Banksia_caleyi)'', and ''[Eucalyptus caleyi](/source/Eucalyptus_caleyi)''<br/>Discovery of [Mount Banks](/source/Mount_Banks), Australia
| author_abbrev_bot = '''Caley'''
 | patrons = Sir [Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks)
| workplaces = [Kew Gardens](/source/Kew_Gardens)
}}
'''George Caley''' (10 June 1770 – 23 May 1829) was an English [botanist](/source/botanist) and explorer, active in Australia for the majority of his career.

==Early life==
Caley was born on 10 June 1770<ref name="dab">{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=George|Last=Caley|shortlink=0-dict-biogCa-Ch.html#caley1|accessdate=2 October 2008}}</ref> in [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire).<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=R. Else |date=27 May 1939 |title=The Man from Kew: George Caley in Australia. 130th Anniversary |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17590136?searchTerm=%22george%20caley%22 |access-date=19 May 2026 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |pages=13}}</ref> His father was a horse dealer.<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> Caley attended the Free Grammar School at [Manchester](/source/Manchester) and began working for his father.<ref name="dab" /> He taught himself botany<ref name="dab" /> by studying [William Withering's](/source/William_Withering) ''Botanical Arrangement'' (1787–92). He got himself a job at [Kew Gardens](/source/Kew_Gardens)<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> and spent more time with associates at the Manchester School of Botanists. He started corresponding with [Sir Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks)<ref name=":0" /> in 1795.<ref name="dab" />

Caley emigrated to [Sydney](/source/Sydney) arriving on 15 April 1800.<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> He was employed by Banks as a botanical collector and lived in [Parramatta](/source/Parramatta) in a cottage provided by the government.<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> Caley travelled to [Western Port](/source/Western_Port), the Cow Pastures region, [Norfolk Island](/source/Norfolk_Island) and [Hobart](/source/Hobart).<ref name="dab" /> He also travelled to Cataract River, which he named, the Blue Mountains, Mount Tomah, and Mount Banks, which he named for Banks.<ref name=":0" /> In 1804, he made a report to [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) [Governor](/source/Governor_of_New_South_Wales) [Philip Gidley King](/source/Philip_Gidley_King) entitled "''A'' ''Journey to Ascertain the Limits or Boundaries of Vaccary Forest''".<ref name="dab" />

In 1810, he returned to [England](/source/England).<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> Caley married in 1816.<ref name="dab" />  Around 1816, he became the curator of the [St Vincent](/source/Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines_Botanic_Gardens) [botanic gardens](/source/Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines_Botanic_Gardens), a role in which he served until 1822.<ref name="dab" /> Later, he returned to England.<ref name="dab" />

== Death and legacy ==
Caley died in England on 23 May 1829.<ref name="dab" /><ref name=":0" /> He was 59.<ref name=":0" /> He had been predeceased by his wife.<ref name="dab" /> The couple had no children.<ref name="dab" />

A memorial to him was unveiled on the Blue Mountains, 150 years after he climbed Mount King George.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 Oct 1954 |title=George Caley Memorial |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18452446?searchTerm=%22george%20caley%22 |access-date=19 May 2026 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |pages=5 |via=Trove}}</ref>[[File:Duck off Elvina.JPG|thumb|right|240px|''[Caleana](/source/Caleana_major)'', the Flying Duck Orchid, named after George Caley]]

==Botanical name==
This botanist is denoted by the [author abbreviation](/source/List_of_botanists_by_author_abbreviation) '''<span class="vcard"><span class="fn n"><span class="nickname">Caley</span></span></span>''' when [citing](/source/Author_citation_(botany)) a [botanical name](/source/botanical_name).<ref>{{cite book|last = Brummitt|first = R. K.|author2=C. E. Powell|title = Authors of Plant Names |publisher = [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens%2C_Kew) |year = 1992 |isbn = 1-84246-085-4}}</ref> He is recognised in several place names, including a Reserve name and bushland pavilion name at [Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden](/source/Ku-ring-gai_Wildflower_Garden) in [St Ives](/source/St_Ives%2C_New_South_Wales), and in the orchid genus ''[Caleana](/source/Caleana)'' and the species ''[Grevillea caleyi](/source/Grevillea_caleyi)'', ''[Viola caleyana](/source/Viola_caleyana)'', ''[Banksia caleyi](/source/Banksia_caleyi)'', and ''[Eucalyptus caleyi](/source/Eucalyptus_caleyi)''.<ref>Webb, J., (2002), ‘Caley, George’, in R. Aitken and M. Looker (eds), ''Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens'', South Melbourne, Oxford University Press, p. 124.</ref>  A George Caley Society was formed in Saint Ives (New South Wales) in 2019.

==See also==
* [List of Blue Mountains articles](/source/List_of_Blue_Mountains_articles)
* [List of gardener-botanist explorers of the Enlightenment](/source/List_of_gardener-botanist_explorers_of_the_Enlightenment)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Webb, J. B., (2003), ‘George Caley – Robert Brown’s collecting partner’, ''Australian Garden History'', 15 (1), pp.&nbsp;15–16.

Additional sources listed by the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'':
:''Historical Records of New South Wales'', vols 3-6; J. Cash, ''Where There's a Will there's a Way, or Science in the Cottage'' (London, 1873); J. H. Maiden, ''Sir Joseph Banks'' (Sydney, 1909); J. H. Maiden, ‘George Caley, Botanical Collector in NSW’, ''Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales'', 14 (1904); R. Else-Mitchell, ‘George Caley: His Life and Work’, ''Journal and Proceedings'' (Royal Australian Historical Society), vol 25, part 6, 1939, pp 437–542; L. A. Gilbert, Botanical Investigation of Eastern Seaboard Australia, 1788-1810 (M.A. thesis, University of New England, 1962); manuscript catalogue under G. Caley (State Library of New South Wales); G. Caley letters (State Library of New South Wales)

==External links==
* [http://www.infobluemountains.net.au/history/crossing_cal.htm Account of Caley's attempt to cross the Blue Mountains]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caley, George}}
Category:English explorers
Category:1770 births
Category:1829 deaths
Category:Botanists with author abbreviations
Category:Botanists active in Australia
Category:Explorers of Australia
Category:People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
Category:18th-century English botanists
Category:19th-century English botanists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [George Caley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Caley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Caley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.