George Caley

Caley was born on 10 June 1770^[1] in Yorkshire.^[2] His father was a horse dealer.^[1][2] Caley attended the Free Grammar School at Manchester and began working for his father.^[1] He taught himself botany^[1] by studying William Withering's Botanical Arrangement (1787–92). He got himself a job at Kew Gardens^[1][2] and spent more time with associates at the Manchester School of Botanists. He started corresponding with Sir Joseph Banks^[2] in 1795.^[1]

Caley emigrated to Sydney arriving on 15 April 1800.^[1][2] He was employed by Banks as a botanical collector and lived in Parramatta in a cottage provided by the government.^[1][2] Caley travelled to Western Port, the Cow Pastures region, Norfolk Island and Hobart.^[1] He also travelled to Cataract River, which he named, the Blue Mountains, Mount Tomah, and Mount Banks, which he named for Banks.^[2] In 1804, he made a report to New South Wales Governor Philip Gidley King entitled "A Journey to Ascertain the Limits or Boundaries of Vaccary Forest".^[1]

In 1810, he returned to England.^[1][2] Caley married in 1816.^[1] Around 1816, he became the curator of the St Vincent botanic gardens, a role in which he served until 1822.^[1] Later, he returned to England.^[1]

Caley died in England on 23 May 1829.^[1][2] He was 59.^[2] He had been predeceased by his wife.^[1] The couple had no children.^[1]

A memorial to him was unveiled on the Blue Mountains, 150 years after he climbed Mount King George.^[3]

This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Caley when citing a botanical name.^[4] He is recognised in several place names, including a Reserve name and bushland pavilion name at Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden in St Ives, and in the orchid genus Caleana and the species Grevillea caleyi, Viola caleyana, Banksia caleyi, and Eucalyptus caleyi.^[5] A George Caley Society was formed in Saint Ives (New South Wales) in 2019.

• List of Blue Mountains articles
• List of gardener-botanist explorers of the Enlightenment