Joseph Harris
Joseph Harris
Joseph Harris was born near Bristol, England, in 1833.
His father had a three-acre plant nursery and seed shop in Bristol, but Joseph set sail in July 1856 to visit the gold fields of Australia.
After spending a year looking for gold, he returned to Melbourne and bought a seed and floral nursery in South Yarra.
He married Eliza Nicholson in 1863, and they raised three daughters and a son.
He built his own home in Mornington, and also one on the summit of Mount Martha - part of his 80 acre property.
Four Generations of the Harris's
He experimented in planting seeds he had gathered from over the world, and he was often accompanied by Baron Von Mueller of the Royal Botanical Gardens of Melbourne. Some trees he planted still remain in Mount Martha Park, adjacent to the Joseph Harris Boy Scout Camp which was built on land donated by Mrs Rose Pitt, daughter of Joseph Harris in 1931.
Upon completion of construction of the Royal Exhibition Building, Harris designed the surrounding gardens.
He was Mayor of Prahran in 1875, Member of Parliament from 1880-94 and from 1897-1904, was on Melbourne’s Metropolitan Parks and Gardens Committee, was involved in the founding of the Burnley Horticultural Society, and was a Commissioner for the 1888 Melbourne International Exhibition (and Chairman of its Gardens Committee).
From 1895, he edited the horticulture columns in The Argus (newspaper) and The Australasian (journal) from his home, "Marina", on the Esplanade, Mornington, until well into his 80s.
In 1915 an unfortunate fire destroyed "Marina" and also Joseph Harris’s notes and records, a work of a lifetime was lost. He rebuilt the house, and at the time of the gift of the Scout Camp, it was the home of his daughter Mrs Rose Pitt.
The small beach opposite is known as Marina Cove.
Joseph Harris died in 1925, aged 93, and is buried in the Mornington Cemetery.
Joseph Harris (circled) at the Burnley Horticultural School
"Marina" at Marina Cove
