German born and trained Schomburgk was the second director of Adelaide Botanic Garden. He was a brilliant administrator, enriching the gardens with plants and funds sourced through his connections with European and local scientific circles.

Schomburgk aimed for a picturesque but scientific botanic garden which recognised its educational and economic value. He was responsible for the Herbarium, the Palm House, and the Museum of Economic Botany, where he featured plant material used by Australian Aboriginal people at a time when their knowledge of plant use was unacknowledged. He worked with farmers, introducing new wheat species and a phylloxera-resistant vine, and he recognised the importance of forests for their impact on climate as well as their economic benefits.

Since the publication of his first catalogue of plants in 1871 the main collection grew from some 6,000 to 8,500 species, servicing private and commercial interests. It is considered by some to be the greatest collection of plants in the world at that time.

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