Caroline Clemente's M.A. thesis at the University of Melbourne was "The Private Face of Patronage: The Howitts, Artistics and Intellectual Philanthropists in Early Melbourne Society."

Dr. Godfrey Howitt migrated to Australia in 1840 and quickly became a patron of exploration, natural sciences and the arts. He purchased land on the corner of Collins and Spring Streets extending to Flinders Lane. There he established a house and garden which became a meeting place for like-minded citizens.

Howitt was associated with the Melbourne Hospital. He was president and honorary physician of the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum, a member of the Port Phillip Medical Association, a member of University of Melbourne council and was on the Medical School Committee. He was the first vice-president of the Philosophical Society of Victoria and a founding member of its successor, the Royal Society of Victoria.