Persieh, W. Anthony (1826–1887)

Born 1826; died Finschhafen, New Guinea on 15 November 1887. Collected animals, plants, and fungi around Cooktown, Queensland, with many botanical specimens being sent to Mueller.

Persieh left Cooktown for New Guinea aboard the German steamer Ottilie on 20 September 1887. He had been contracted by the German New Guinea Company to assess timber resources in their colony but died following a bout of "malarial fever" and was buried in Finschhafen on 16 November 1887. His wife returned to Cooktown on the Ottilie, arriving on 4 December 1887. She was later reported to be in "straitened circumstances" after her husband's death and a subscription was taken up for her.

Persieh was honoured by Mueller in the species epithets of Hakea persiehiana and Bauhinia persiehii. He collected type specimens of these and of several other plant species from the Endeavour River area. His collections are sometimes attributed to "Persich" (cf. spelling used in correspondence from Persieh to Mueller now held in MEL).

Sources:
Anonymous (20 Sept. 1887) "Vessels for New Guinea". Daily Telegraph newspaper (Sydney), p. 5. Accessible online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236770750 [surname given as "Otrsieh"]
Anonymous (10 Dec. 1887) "Country News: Cooktown, December 5". Queenslander newspaper (Brisbane), p. 927. Accessible online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19929052/2255846 [surname given as "Perseish"]
Anonymous (21 Dec. 1887) "Cooktown: From Local Papers to 10th December". Evening Observer newspaper (Brisbane), p. 3. Accessible online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/287310492 [surname given as "Persich"]
Anonymous (24 Dec. 1887) "Queensland News: A Deserving Case". Telegraph newspaper (Brisbane), p. 3. Accessible online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174762766 [surname given as "Persich"]
Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) records, accessed via query online at https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/search/names on 18 Feb. 2026.

Collecting localities for 'Persieh' from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) (2026)

Data from 2709 specimens