Six Degrees of Separation

A passion for the exotic and curiosity for all things antipodean ignited Josephine Bonaparte’s desire to develop a fauna and flora experiment on her 70 hectares at Malmaison on the outskirts of Paris (48 degrees north). This, combined with the search for the elusive Terra Australis, led the French, among others, to Van Diemen’s Land (42 degrees south). Josephine planted her garden with casuarinas, acacias and melaleucas.