Naturalist's house in ruin

Naturalist's house in ruin

TERNATE, Maluku: The house of 19th century British naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace in this North Maluku regency is in ruin
because of neglect, Antara reported.

The Ministry of Education and Culture and local authorities
are responsible for maintaining the historical house where
Wallace created an imaginary line connecting the eastern
Philippines, Bali and Lombok where there are similar animal
species.

Wallace reportedly thought of this line while he was in the
house in bed with malaria.

Wallace, 1823-1913, spent eight years in the archipelago
studying its flora and fauna, collecting more than 125,000
specimens and writing several books. One book, The Malaya
Archipelago, published 1869, expounded his theory about the
imaginary line.

Syafruddin Mohammad from the local tourist office lamented the
neglect, saying that the piece of heritage should have been
preserved better as a tourist attraction. (swe)