Sayer, William A. (fl. 1886 - 1897)

Sayer was an early member of the Field Naturalist's Club of Victoria and in 1886 was commissioned by F. Mueller to collect plants in northern Queensland. At first Sayer was accompanied by W.W. Froggatt, who was then collector for the Macleay Museum, Sydney, and they visited the Barron Falls near Cairns and Harveys Creek.

Late in 1886 and in 1887 Sayer revisited northern Queensland in company with Alexander Davidson; this time they ascended the Bellenden Ker ranges and collected a number of striking new species, including Dracophyllum sayeri and Rhododendron lochae.

From July to October 1887, he was the official naturalist-collector on the Walter R. Cuthbertson expedition to Papua, which was the second New Guinea expedition organized by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia.  The party visited Thursday Island, Port Moresby and the coast from Kappa Kappa to Mt Obree.

Western Australia was visited in 1888 when he collected there for F. Mueller.

Charles French (Snr) refers to Sayer as his 'cousin' in a talk to the Victorian Field Naturalists in 1908.

Sayer's name is commemorated by the species of a number of genera, including Dasycoleum, Dracophyllum, Hollandaea, Microgonium, Polypodium and Rhododendron.

Collecting localities for 'Sayer, W.A.' from AVH (2021)

Data from 1,777 specimens