Her Excellency Jenny Cartmill, High Commissioner for Australia, visited the Argotti Botanic Gardens and Research Centre on Friday 29 July. The High Commissioner was welcomed by the Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella, Prof. Louis F. Cassar, Chairman of the ABGRC Board and Mr Tony Meli, Curator Manager. During the courtesy visit, the Curator provided an overview of the history of the gardens, the third oldest botanic garden in the Commonwealth, and conducted a brief tour of the living collections that may be found within the various specialised sections, including the indigenous and associated Mediterranean areas, and the exotic species areas, organised according to plant families and/or zoogeographical realms.
Of particular interest was the section featuring the Australian native plants collection that was donated by a former High Commissioner for Australia. The visit came to an end after a visit to the herbarium, where the University’s historical preserved plant collections are housed. The potential for a closer collaboration in the fields of human resource capacity building and the exchange of botanical specimens was also discussed. Prior to her departure, H.E. High Commissioner Cartmill was presented with a commemorative Sandarac Gum tree (Tetraclinis articulata), Malta’s national tree.