This first of three volumes of Mueller's selected correspondence covers his early life in Germany prior to his migration to Australia, his years in South Australia, and his first years as Government Botanist of Victoria. This was the period during which Mueller undertook his major exploring expeditions in the southeast of the continent and in northern Australia, and also took on the development of Melbourne's famed Botanic Garden. The volume includes family and other letters from Mueller's youth, and later correspondence, both official and private, documenting his formation as a scientist, his building of links with scientists in other parts of the world, his activities as an explorer, and his role in the establishment of new scientific and cultural institutions in Australia during the hectic gold-rush years. There is a substantial historical introduction and an extensive editorial apparatus that will serve all three volumes.