Autograph Letter Signed, to Sir Frederick Young, congratulating him on his K.C.M.G by MACLEAY, George

Monaco, 30 January 1888. 2½ pages, 7 x 4 inches, in good condition. Uncommon. Sir George Macleay (1809-1891), Australian explorer and politician. In November 1829 he accompanied Charles Sturt on his second expedition to the mouth of the Murray River and back. Early in April 1830, after difficulties on the expedition and the whole party was practically exhausted, Sturt recorded that "amidst these distresses Macleay preserved his good humour and did his utmost to lighten the toil and to cheer the men". Macleay was also a keen zoologist, he donated fossil specimens he collected from the Murrumbidgee River to the Australian Museum. He was also a museum trustee and contributed to Richard Owen's book on the fossils of Australia. Sir Frederick Young KCMG (1817 –1913) was a British traveller and writer on imperial affairs. He promoted the permanent union of the colonies with the United Kingdom, and published works on imperial federation and the empire. He also travelled widely, visiting Canada, Greece, South Africa and Turkey.