Webb, William   (?1834 - 1897)

Born in Staffordshire, England, in 1834?; died at Albany, WA on 5 February 1897.

He was a collector and trader of plants and animals, active in the region around King George Sound in Southwest Australia.

He emigrated to Albany, Western Australia in 1862.

He is thought to have partnered with another collector of the region, George Maxwell, and advertised his business in local newspapers.

His activity in distributing specimens to scientific collections continued into the 1890s, continuing the business after Maxwell's death in 1880.

He is mentioned by J. C. Hassell as collecting in his company at Mount Manypeaks and the Torbay region west of Albany, at Nornalup, and elsewhere.

He assisted English flower painter Marianne North on visit in 1880.

Probably collected algae at Rottnest Is. 1884. In a letter to J.G.Agardh, 15 Feb. 1886, Mueller wrote: "Webb's plants are always purchased and are rarely his own collections".

He wrote articles in Albany Mail 1883-96.

He died near Albany in 1897.

Source: Extracted from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Webb_(naturalist)
George, A.S. (2009) Australian Botanist's Companion, Four Gables Press, WA.
Portrait Photo: none known.

Collecting localities for 'Webb, W.' (filtered by year) from AVH (2025)

Data from 1,625 specimens attributed to Webb in Australian herbaria