Arcadópolis
Waratah and Native Arbutus
Louisa Anne Meredith, c. 1860
What you see
A branch climbs diagonally from the bottom and opens into long green leaves. At the center two red flowers burst open, made of filaments that curl at the tips. On the left hang clusters of round white blossoms, like tiny lanterns. Two butterflies fly on the right: a black one with pale green markings beside the red flowers, and a smaller brown one below.
The deep red outweighs the greens and the background, a grey-blue wash that surrounds the branch like a cloud. Each white blossom carries a small red star at its tip. Notice the curls of the red flowers, repeating almost like handwriting, and the tiny caption “Plate 4” at the top.
About Louisa Anne Meredith
Louisa Anne Meredith was born in Birmingham and, before she married, had already published in England, under her maiden name, Twamley, books of poems and flowers illustrated by herself. In 1839 she married and emigrated to Australia, and from 1840 she lived in Tasmania. A writer, naturalist and illustrator, she painted the flowers, birds and insects of the Tasmanian bush in great detail, and published her plates in books such as “Some of My Bush Friends in Tasmania”. She was also a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
More by Louisa Anne Meredith
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