Trinity College, Botany Bay, Dublin City

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Where: Dublin, Ireland

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When: Unknown

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I have never heard of "Botany Bay" in the context of Trinity College. Of course the real Botany Bay holds an important position in Irish history - more for transportation of convicts rather than anything to do with its botanic beauty. I wonder how and when this square obtained its name?

.... "Asked and answered" as they say. Beachcomberaustralia sourced an amazing "letter to the editor" entry from an 1875 edition of the Australian Town and Country Journal. Which offers an entertaining answer to the question. The story goes that this area of the college was prone to flooding (and worse). And students would throw undesirable visitors into the quagmire. As a type of punishment - which "some wag" likened to transporting undesirables to Botany Bay in what were then the penal colonies....


Photographer: Robert French

Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection

Date: Catalogue range c.1865-1914. Likely before c.1899

NLI Ref: L_ROY_02508

You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie

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Owner: National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Source: Flickr Commons
Views: 19799
robertfrench williamlawrence lawrencecollection lawrencephotographicstudio glassnegative nationallibraryofireland botanybay trinity trinitycollegedublin leinster ireland trinitycollege university square garden vegetablegarden quagmire dunking dublin lawrencephotographcollection

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    Niall McAuley

    • 14/Jun/2017 07:43:45

    Yes, it is labelled Botany Bay on the OSI 25" map at GeoHive

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    Niall McAuley

    • 14/Jun/2017 07:45:38

    www.tcd.ie says : Botany Bay, once the vegetable garden for the College, was still being cultivated in the early 19th Century. It gradually became enclosed by buildings with Richard Morrison designing the north side of the square in 1816. The Botany Building was designed by W C Marshall of London in 1906. Many of the staff rooms are located in Luce Hall.

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    Niall McAuley

    • 14/Jun/2017 07:55:09

    Should be dateable - we are looking out at the bank building on College street (now the Westin hotel), so it is earlier than the 1907 25", which shows a building in this gap (not the modern one, though). Archiseek says 1867 for the bank. Google TennisCourtView

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    BeachcomberAustralia

    • 14/Jun/2017 08:34:48

    This explanation is priceless! According to Trove from 1879 - The question why - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70936493?searchTerm=%2... The answer - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70936981?searchTerm=%2...

    TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. To the Editor. SIR,- In the TOWN AND COUNTRY JOURNAL of Saturday, March 22 [1879], the following question is asked:- "Why has one of the squares of Trinity College, Dublin, been known as Botany Bay for many years past?" The portion of ground called Botany Bay is at the back of one of the squares of Trinity College, next to Brunswick-street. It was generally flooded, being much lower than the land about, and at the time it got the name, a large ditch or open drain was to be seen, filled with the sewage from the College. It was here that bailiffs and such cattle, who were hardy enough, in the days of Webber, Power, and O'Malley, to enter the College and serve a writ or other like nuisance on any of the collegians, were thrust. When caught, they were carried off to Botany Bay, and soused in this ditch, or duck-pond as it was called; and when the unfortunate fellows were half drowned, they would be taken and placed under the pump, and pumped on for some time, in order to make them presentable to the authorities before they were kicked out of the College through the back gate. In consequence of the sentence passed on so many unfortunates, and carried out in this place, and from the fact of its being nearly always flooded, some wag christened it Botany Bay; and so it remains until this day. ABLANA.

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    Niall McAuley

    • 14/Jun/2017 08:41:41

    This is L_ROY_02508. L_ROY_02505, L_ROY_02506 and L_ROY_2507 are the Campanile in Trinity, undateable (and amazingly human-free!).

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    Niall McAuley

    • 14/Jun/2017 09:39:39

    L_ROY_02509, 10, 11 are in Trinity. L_ROY_02512 is of the BoI out on College Green. There is a sign for T. Cordingley and Sons, "Vectis". The business was founded in 1848, and active through 1866 at least. Found an 1879 ref.

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    National Library of Ireland on The Commons

    • 14/Jun/2017 10:08:25

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia one of your best!!

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    National Library of Ireland on The Commons

    • 14/Jun/2017 10:16:16

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley Niall, I am surprised to see Botany Bay on the 25" OSI map, well spotted. it makes for a very good trivia question!

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    BeachcomberAustralia

    • 14/Jun/2017 10:46:08

    [https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland] I think the area is still known as Botany Bay according to this recent (April 2017) article about the LUAS - trinitynews.ie/botany-bay-luas-works-halted-until-may-14/ This is a bit geeky - I noticed the roof shadow at bottom left does not match the building which is there now, the Graduates Memorial Building (1902). Photo is before 1899 because "In May 1897, tenders were invited by Trinity College, Dublin, to design a replacement for the residential buildings known as Rotten Row. These buildings were almost architecturally indistinguishable from The Rubrics, which stood from circa 1700. ... ... In 1899 Rotten Row was demolished and work began on the new building. Its construction was largely financed by subscriptions from graduates, and was opened on 31 May 1902." From - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduates_Memorial_Building

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    National Library of Ireland on The Commons

    • 14/Jun/2017 11:25:48

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia Geeky but Good...

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    BeachcomberAustralia

    • 14/Jun/2017 11:32:54

    The front of 'Rotten Row' can be see mid-left in this one, matching the far 'row' with tall chimneys and dormer windows as seen in the shadow above - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000334856 Then all changed after 1902 GMB - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000325476 Ed. And the curly bits were added to the "far row" 'The Rubicks' in 1894 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rubrics Which does help date a lot of the Trinity photos, but messes up any chronology in the Lawrence cataloguing system - see [https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley/]'s hard work above.

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    oaktree_brian_1976

    • 14/Jun/2017 12:09:12

    that was Khan's ship in Star Trek!

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    aidanhodson

    • 14/Jun/2017 17:16:54

    What's that fella doing hanging out the window, second from top right? a bit precarious!

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    BeachcomberAustralia

    • 14/Jun/2017 21:37:52

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/mise-le-meas/ It's alright, he's an intellectual ! Flickr is sometimes amazing. Almost - https://www.flickr.com/photos/achesonblog/3732730284/

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    dancingmick

    • 23/Jul/2017 15:05:46

    the building labelled printing house is, in fact, the dining hall