Kajewski, Sethrick Francis (Frank)   (1904 - 1997)

Known as Frank Kajewski, he was an Australian fruit farmer, botanist and botanical collector.

Born on 14 July 1904 in Queensland, died on 30 August, 1997, in Qld.

His father, Mr. Charles Christian Kajewski, was born in Thehendof, Germany, and with his parents he arrived in Queensland in 1870, and resided in the Lockyer district for many years. Frank was the forth of his five sons.

Frank Kajewski was hired by Oakes Ames (1847-1950), Supervisor of the Arnold Arboretum from 1927-1935, to collect plant specimens in the South Pacific Islands, an area that had been little explored.

He began his collecting for the Arboretum in the New Hebrides Islands on February 11, 1928, then moved on to Vanikoro (or Vanikolo), a group of several nearby islands in the Santa Cruz group, and continued to work there until March 20, 1929.

From May 1929 to December he collected in the rain forests of North Queensland in the wetter parts of the Atherton Tableland, Mt. Bartle Frere, and the Daintree River.

He resumed his collecting in the north Solomon Islands in April, 1930.

While Kajewski was collecting Bougainville the Arboretum published "A Plant Collector's Notes on the New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Islands" in volume 11 of its Journal.

Next Kajewski sailed to Malaita, a thin, mountainous island and the most populated of the Solomons, spent a short amount of time collecting, and then proceeded to the largest island in the Solomons, Guadalcanal where he remained in the Arboretum's employ until May of 1932.

Kajewski's correspondence, chiefly with Alfred Rehder, Curator of the Arboretum's Herbarium from 1893-1940, often describes the challenges he faced collecting in this island environment. Uncooperative political authorities, the lack affordable, competent, help and the additional complication of drying and preserving plants in humid conditions were all obstacles to overcome. Kajewski's communication with the Arboreum was aided by Cyril Tenison White (1890-1950) who acted as a conduit for his letters and specimens.
(White had a long association with the Arboretum beginning as a correspondent with Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927), the Arboretum's first director.)

In 1933, the Arboretum published White's 'Ligneous Plants Collected for the Arnold Arboretum in North Queensland by S.F. Kajewski in 1929' in the fourth number of Contributions from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

White named two new species for Kajewski in this publication: Garcinia kajewskii and Jasminum kajewskii.
The type specimen of Garcinia kajewskii is held at the Harvard University Herbaria. The New York Botanical Garden holds the Jasminum kajewskii type specimen.

Early in the expedition Kajewski was stricken with malaria and although in an attempt to recuperate sought relief by suspending his collecting for several months the fever lasted for the duration of the expedition.

In September of 1931, he informed Rehder that he had discovered a considerable amount of gold. Kajewski realized that he would not be able to collect specimens and supervise his mining interests and resigned his position as collector.

To continue in his place, the Arboretum engaged Leonard (Len) J. Brass (1900-1971).

Little is known of Frank's mining endeavours or his whereabouts in WW2 (no NAA WW2 war service records), but in 1947 Frank was chosen by the Bowen Branch of the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing as a Grower Representative to be sent to the Sydney markets to "take particular note of the quality and condition on arrival of Bowen fruit at the market", so it is assumed he returned to fruit growing.

Sources: Extracted from:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/151205519?searchTerm=Frank%20Kajewski
https://arboretum.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/III_SFK_2012.pdf
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx
https://bionomia.net/Q106707390/specimens?action=collected&recordedBy=Kajewski%2C%20S.F.%20Arnold%20Arboretum%3B%20Bishop%20Museum
'Bowen Independent' newspaper Fri 13 Jun 1947, Page 4, BOWEN GROWERS' REP. FOR SYDNEY.
The Ryerson Index - KAJEWSKI Sethrick Frank
Portrait Photo: none found.
Publication cover: White, C.T. 'Ligneous Plants Collected for the Arnold Arboretum in North Queensland by S.F. Kajewski in 1929' Contributions from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, No.IV (1933).

Collecting localities for 'Kajewski, S.F.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 3,056 specimens