ABSTRACT From the 1860s, there was a flurry of activity around the natural sciences in colonial New Zealand, as the native flora of this place was collected, analysed, identified and classified. While males dominated the professional world of knowledge production in the recently established field of ‘serious’ scientific botany, the amateur field was populated by highly talented females, including Georgina Hetley and Sarah Featon. James Hector, first Director of Wellington's Colonial Museum, was a keen botanist, and regularly communicated with 'My dear Hooker', Joseph Dalton Hooker of Kew Gardens. Hector supported several scientific publications by males in the 1870s and 80s, yet his lack of support for locally produced works by females is notable. This paper investigates the networks that both supported and restricted female activity in this field. It will consider the contributions of female practitioners, highlighting that the life of a ‘flower painter' occupied a liminal realm – never fully at home either in the world of science, or of art. It will imagine how different these women’s lives and careers may have been if they had been privileged to communicate with 'My dear Hooker' and to receive letters addressed in turn to, for example, 'My dear Hetley'.

中文翻译：

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“我亲爱的胡克”：新西兰殖民时期的植物景观

摘要从 1860 年代开始，新西兰殖民地的自然科学开始了一系列活动，因为这个地方的本地植物群被收集、分析、鉴定和分类。虽然男性在最近建立的“严肃”科学植物学领域的知识生产专业领域占主导地位，但业余领域却由才华横溢的女性组成，包括乔治娜·赫特利 (Georgina Hetley) 和莎拉·费顿 (Sarah Featon)。惠灵顿殖民博物馆的首任馆长詹姆斯·赫克托 (James Hector) 是一位敏锐的植物学家，并经常与“我亲爱的胡克”、邱园的约瑟夫·道尔顿·胡克 (Joseph Dalton Hooker) 进行交流。赫克托在 1870 年代和 80 年代支持几篇男性发表的科学出版物，但值得注意的是，他对女性本地制作的作品缺乏支持。本文调查了在该领域支持和限制女性活动的网络。它将考虑女性从业者的贡献，强调“花画家”的生活占据了一个界限——无论是在科学界还是艺术界，都从未完全自在。可以想象，如果这些女性有幸与“我亲爱的胡克”交流并收到依次寄给“我亲爱的赫特利”的信件，她们的生活和职业会有多么不同。