Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Encyclopedia
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (ɑ̃twan ʁɛmɔ̃ ʒɔzɛf də bʁyni dɑ̃tʁəkasto) (8 November 1737, Aix-en-Provence
– 21 July 1793) was a French
navigator who explored the Australia
n coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse
.
Strictly speaking, his surname should be rendered as Bruni (or Bruny) d'Entrecasteaux, but the heading above is used for the sake of uniformity with most entries in reference works relating to this navigator.
, France
in 1739, and educated at a Jesuit school, d'Entrecasteaux would have liked to join that order, but his father intervened and enlisted him in the French Navy
in 1754. In the action that secured the Balearic Islands
for Spain
(and resulted in the execution of Admiral Byng
), Entrecasteaux was a midshipman aboard the 26-gun Minerve, and in April 1757 he was commissioned as an ensign
. His further naval career as a junior officer was uneventful, and he appears in this period to have done general service in the French Navy.
For a time Entrecasteaux was Assistant Director of ports and arsenals, after which (1785) he was transferred to command a French Squadron in the East Indies
. During this service he opened up a new route to Canton
by way of the Sunda Strait
and the Moluccas, for use during the south-east monsoon season. He was then appointed Governor
of the French colony of Mauritius
.
in March 1788. Entrecasteaux was selected to command this expedition. He was given a frigate, the Recherche
(500 tons), with Lieutenant Jean-Louis d'Hesmity-d'Auribeau as his second-in-command and Rossel among the other officers. A similar ship, the Espérance
, was placed under Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec
, with de Trobriand as his second-in-command. A distinguished hydrographical engineer, Beautemps-Beaupré
, was the hydrographer to the expedition.
When the expedition left Brest
on 28 September 1791, Entrecasteaux was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral. The plan of the voyage was to proceed to New Holland
(Australia
), to sight Cape Leeuwin
, then to hug the shore closely all the way to Van Diemen's Land
(Tasmania
), inspecting every possible harbour in a rowing boat, and then to sail for the Friendly Islands (Tonga
) via the northern cape of New Zealand
allowing gardener Félix Delahaye
to collect live breadfruit
plants for transport to the French West Indies. He was next to follow La Pérouse's intended route in the Pacific. It was thought that La Pérouse had meant to explore New Caledonia
and the Louisiade Archipelago
, to pass through Torres Strait
, and to explore the Gulf of Carpentaria
and the northern coast of New Holland.
However, when Entrecasteaux reached Table Bay
, Cape Town
on 17 January 1792, he heard a report that Captain John Hunter
(later to be Governor of New South Wales) had recently seen – off the Admiralty Islands
– canoes manned by natives wearing French uniforms and belts. Although Hunter denied this report, and although the Frenchmen heard of the denial, Entrecasteaux determined to make directly to the Admiralty Islands, taking water and refreshing his crew at Van Diemen's Land. On 20 April 1792, that land was in sight, and three days later the ships anchored in a harbour, which he named Recherche Bay
. For the next five weeks, until 28 May 1792, the Frenchmen carried out careful boat explorations which revealed in detail the beautiful waterways and estuaries in the area.
Entrecasteaux was fortunate in having good officers and scientists; the most important from the exploration point of view was the expedition's first hydrographical engineer, C.F Beautemps-Beaupré, who is now regarded as the father of modern French hydrography. The work this officer did in the field was excellent, and his charts, when published in France as an Atlas du Voyage de Bruny-Dentrecasteaux (1807) were very detailed. The atlas contains 39 charts, of which those of Van Diemen's Land were the most detailed, and which remained the source of the English charts for many years.
Beautemps-Beaupré, while surveying the coasts with Lieutenant Crétin, discovered that Adventure Bay
, which had been discovered by Tobias Furneaux
in 1773, was on an island which was separated from the mainland by a fine navigable channel. On 16 May, d'Entrecasteaux commenced to sail the ships through the channel, and this was accomplished by the 28th. Port Esperance, the Huon River
, and other features were discovered, named, and charted, the admiral's names being given to the channel (D'Entrecasteaux Channel
) and the large island (Bruny Island) separated by it from the mainland.
On 28 May 1792, the ships sailed into the Pacific to search for La Pérouse. On 17 June, they arrived off the Isle of Pines
, south of New Caledonia
. From there, d'Entrecasteaux sailed northward along the western coast of New Caledonia. The Entrecasteaux reefs at the northwestern end of the New Caledonia Barrier Reef
are named for him. He then passed the Solomon Islands
along their southern or western coasts, sailed through Saint George's Channel
between New Ireland
and New Britain
, and on 28 July sighted the south-east coast of the Admiralty Islands
. After three days spent in scrutinizing the eastern and northern coastline, Entrecasteaux decided that the rumours he had heard in Table Bay must be false, and he therefore set sail for Ambon
, where his ships replenished their stores.
Leaving Amboina on 14 October, Entrecasteaux made for Cape Leeuwin
to carry out his original instructions of searching southern New Holland
for La Pérouse. On 6 December land was sighted near Cape Leeuwin, and named D'Entrecasteaux Point. This event was celebrated by feastings and parties, one result of which was that the smith on board Recherche, Jean-Marie Marhadour over-indulged and died next day from an apoplectic fit. The weather was boisterous, and the ships failed to find King George III Sound
, originally discovered by Vancouver
. As they sailed further east, they penetrated numerous islands and dangerous shoals, to which they gave the name D'Entrecasteaux Islands — later changed to the Recherche Archipelago.
While the Frenchmen were still in that dangerous area, on 12 December a violent storm descended upon them, and both ships were nearly wrecked. Fortunately, however, they found an anchorage where they were able to ride out the worst of the gale. Landings were made here on the mainland, and the locality was named in honour of Legrand, who had spotted the anchorage, and the ship he was on, Espérance. Beautemps-Beaupré made a hasty survey of the off-lying islands of the archipelago. No water was found, and on 18 December the ships continued eastward to the head of the Great Australian Bight
, but here the coast was found to be even more arid, and the water position more serious.
On 4 January 1793, Entrecasteaux was forced to leave the coast at a position near Entrecasteaux Reef and sail direct to Van Diemen's Land. In this decision the French explorer was unfortunate, for if he had continued his examination of the southern coast of New Holland, he would have made all the geographical discoveries that fell to the lot of Bass
and Flinders
a few years later. Then, indeed, a French "Terre Napoléon" might well have become a fact.
The ships anchored in Recherche Bay on 22 January, and a period of five weeks was spent in that area, watering the ships, refreshing the crews, and carrying out explorations into both natural history
and geography
. Beautemps-Beaupré, in company with other officers, surveyed the northern extensions to Storm Bay
– the western extension was found to be a mouth of a river and received the name Rivière du Nord – it was renamed the Derwent River a few months later by the next visitor to this area, Captain John Hayes
in the Duke of Clarence and the Duchess.
On 28 February d'Entrecasteaux sailed from Van Diemen's Land towards the Friendly Islands, sighting New Zealand
and the Kermadec Islands
en route. At the Friendly Islands, he found that the natives remembered Cook
and Bligh
well enough, but knew nothing of La Pérouse. He then sailed back to New Caledonia, where he anchored at Balade. The vain search for La Pérouse was then resumed to Santa Cruz
, then along the southern coasts of the Solomon Islands, the northern parts of the Louisiade Archipelago
, through the Dampier Strait
, along the northern coast of New Britain
and the southern coast of the Admiralty Islands, and thence north of New Guinea
to the Moluccas.
By this time, the affairs of the expedition had become almost desperate, largely because the officers were ardent royalists and the crews equally ardent revolutionaries. Kermadec had died of phthisis in Balade harbour, and on 21 July 1793, d'Entrecasteaux himself died of scurvy, off the Hermits.
Commands were re-arranged, with Auribeau taking charge of the expedition, with Rossel in Kermadec's place. The new chief took the ships to Surabaya
. Here it was learned that a republic had been proclaimed in France, and on 18 February 1794 Auribeau handed his vessels to the Dutch authorities so that the new French Government could not profit by them. Auribeau died a month later and Rossel sailed from Java in January 1795 on board a Dutch ship, arriving at Table Bay
in April 1795. There his ship sailed unexpectedly with the expedition's papers, leaving him behind, but this vessel was captured by the British. Rossel then took passage on a brig-of-war, but this too was captured by the British. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802, all the papers of the expedition were returned to Rossel, who was thus enabled to publish a narrative of the whole enterprise.
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
– 21 July 1793) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
navigator who explored the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was a French Navy officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania.-Early career:...
.
Strictly speaking, his surname should be rendered as Bruni (or Bruny) d'Entrecasteaux, but the heading above is used for the sake of uniformity with most entries in reference works relating to this navigator.
Early career
Born at Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1739, and educated at a Jesuit school, d'Entrecasteaux would have liked to join that order, but his father intervened and enlisted him in the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
in 1754. In the action that secured the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(and resulted in the execution of Admiral Byng
John Byng
Admiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...
), Entrecasteaux was a midshipman aboard the 26-gun Minerve, and in April 1757 he was commissioned as an ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
. His further naval career as a junior officer was uneventful, and he appears in this period to have done general service in the French Navy.
For a time Entrecasteaux was Assistant Director of ports and arsenals, after which (1785) he was transferred to command a French Squadron in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. During this service he opened up a new route to Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
by way of the Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...
and the Moluccas, for use during the south-east monsoon season. He was then appointed Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the French colony of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
.
His explorations
In September 1791, the French Assembly decided to send an expedition in search of Jean-François de La Pérouse, who had not been heard of since leaving Botany BayBotany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
in March 1788. Entrecasteaux was selected to command this expedition. He was given a frigate, the Recherche
French ship Recherche (1787)
The Recherche was a 20-gun Marsouin class scow of the French Navy, later reclassified as a 12-gun frigate. She earned fame as one of the ships of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux' expedition, along with Espérance...
(500 tons), with Lieutenant Jean-Louis d'Hesmity-d'Auribeau as his second-in-command and Rossel among the other officers. A similar ship, the Espérance
French ship Espérance (1781)
The Espérance was a Rhône class scow of the French Navy, later reclassified as a frigate. She earned fame as one of the ships of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux' expedition, along with Recherche...
, was placed under Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec
Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec
Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec was an 18th century French navigator. In September 1791 he was chosen to command the Espérance on the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux expedition to find the lost expedition of Jean-François de La Pérouse. The expedition explored Australia and the South Pacific...
, with de Trobriand as his second-in-command. A distinguished hydrographical engineer, Beautemps-Beaupré
Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré
Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré was a French hydrographer, hydrographic engineer and cartographer. He was a member of the Académie des sciences and the Bureau des Longitudes and is held to be the father of modern French hydrography...
, was the hydrographer to the expedition.
When the expedition left Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 28 September 1791, Entrecasteaux was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral. The plan of the voyage was to proceed to New Holland
New Holland (Australia)
New Holland is a historic name for the island continent of Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as Nova Hollandia, naming it after the Dutch province of Holland, and remained in use for 180 years....
(Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), to sight Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia.A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further to the south. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is Augusta. South-east of Cape Leeuwin, the coast...
, then to hug the shore closely all the way to Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
), inspecting every possible harbour in a rowing boat, and then to sail for the Friendly Islands (Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
) via the northern cape of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
allowing gardener Félix Delahaye
Félix Delahaye
Félix Delahaye Félix's surname is variously presented as de Lahaie, Delahaie, de Lahaye, de La Haye, and Lahaie. was a French gardener who served on the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux voyage that was sent by the French National Assembly to search for the missing explorer Jean-François La Perouse.Delahaye...
to collect live breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
plants for transport to the French West Indies. He was next to follow La Pérouse's intended route in the Pacific. It was thought that La Pérouse had meant to explore New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and the Louisiade Archipelago
Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread over an ocean area of between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to...
, to pass through Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
, and to explore the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
and the northern coast of New Holland.
However, when Entrecasteaux reached Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
on 17 January 1792, he heard a report that Captain John Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
(later to be Governor of New South Wales) had recently seen – off the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
– canoes manned by natives wearing French uniforms and belts. Although Hunter denied this report, and although the Frenchmen heard of the denial, Entrecasteaux determined to make directly to the Admiralty Islands, taking water and refreshing his crew at Van Diemen's Land. On 20 April 1792, that land was in sight, and three days later the ships anchored in a harbour, which he named Recherche Bay
Recherche Bay
Recherche Bay is located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, Australia and was a landing place of the d’Entrecasteaux expedition to find missing explorer La Pérouse...
. For the next five weeks, until 28 May 1792, the Frenchmen carried out careful boat explorations which revealed in detail the beautiful waterways and estuaries in the area.
Entrecasteaux was fortunate in having good officers and scientists; the most important from the exploration point of view was the expedition's first hydrographical engineer, C.F Beautemps-Beaupré, who is now regarded as the father of modern French hydrography. The work this officer did in the field was excellent, and his charts, when published in France as an Atlas du Voyage de Bruny-Dentrecasteaux (1807) were very detailed. The atlas contains 39 charts, of which those of Van Diemen's Land were the most detailed, and which remained the source of the English charts for many years.
Beautemps-Beaupré, while surveying the coasts with Lieutenant Crétin, discovered that Adventure Bay
Adventure Bay
Adventure Bay is a bay on Bruny Island in southeastern Tasmania. Discovered in 1773 by Tobias Furneaux, it was named after his ship, HMS Adventure. James Cook explored the region in 1777, as did William Bligh in 1788 and 1792....
, which had been discovered by Tobias Furneaux
Tobias Furneaux
Captain Tobias Furneaux was an English navigator and Royal Navy officer, who accompanied James Cook on his second voyage of exploration. He was the first man to circumnavigate the world in both directions....
in 1773, was on an island which was separated from the mainland by a fine navigable channel. On 16 May, d'Entrecasteaux commenced to sail the ships through the channel, and this was accomplished by the 28th. Port Esperance, the Huon River
Huon River
The Huon River is the fourth largest river in Tasmania, Australia. It is 170 km in length, and runs through the fertile Huon Valley. From Scotts Peak Dam at Lake Pedder where it begins, it flows south-east to the Tahune Airwalk, where the Picton River joins, before heading through the rural...
, and other features were discovered, named, and charted, the admiral's names being given to the channel (D'Entrecasteaux Channel
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a region of water between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania. It extends between the estuaries of the Derwent, and the Huon Rivers...
) and the large island (Bruny Island) separated by it from the mainland.
On 28 May 1792, the ships sailed into the Pacific to search for La Pérouse. On 17 June, they arrived off the Isle of Pines
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
The Isle of Pines is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. The island is part of the commune of L'Île-des-Pins, in the South Province of New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines is nicknamed l'île la plus proche du paradis...
, south of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. From there, d'Entrecasteaux sailed northward along the western coast of New Caledonia. The Entrecasteaux reefs at the northwestern end of the New Caledonia Barrier Reef
New Caledonia Barrier Reef
The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, and is the second-longest double-barrier coral reef in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef....
are named for him. He then passed the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
along their southern or western coasts, sailed through Saint George's Channel
Saint George's Channel (Bismarck Archipelago)
Saint George's Channel in the Bismarck Archipelago, lies between New Ireland and New Britain. It is named by analogy with St George's Channel between Great Britain and Ireland....
between New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
and New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, and on 28 July sighted the south-east coast of the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. After three days spent in scrutinizing the eastern and northern coastline, Entrecasteaux decided that the rumours he had heard in Table Bay must be false, and he therefore set sail for Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
, where his ships replenished their stores.
Leaving Amboina on 14 October, Entrecasteaux made for Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia.A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further to the south. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is Augusta. South-east of Cape Leeuwin, the coast...
to carry out his original instructions of searching southern New Holland
New Holland (Australia)
New Holland is a historic name for the island continent of Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as Nova Hollandia, naming it after the Dutch province of Holland, and remained in use for 180 years....
for La Pérouse. On 6 December land was sighted near Cape Leeuwin, and named D'Entrecasteaux Point. This event was celebrated by feastings and parties, one result of which was that the smith on board Recherche, Jean-Marie Marhadour over-indulged and died next day from an apoplectic fit. The weather was boisterous, and the ships failed to find King George III Sound
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
, originally discovered by Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
. As they sailed further east, they penetrated numerous islands and dangerous shoals, to which they gave the name D'Entrecasteaux Islands — later changed to the Recherche Archipelago.
While the Frenchmen were still in that dangerous area, on 12 December a violent storm descended upon them, and both ships were nearly wrecked. Fortunately, however, they found an anchorage where they were able to ride out the worst of the gale. Landings were made here on the mainland, and the locality was named in honour of Legrand, who had spotted the anchorage, and the ship he was on, Espérance. Beautemps-Beaupré made a hasty survey of the off-lying islands of the archipelago. No water was found, and on 18 December the ships continued eastward to the head of the Great Australian Bight
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.-Extent:...
, but here the coast was found to be even more arid, and the water position more serious.
On 4 January 1793, Entrecasteaux was forced to leave the coast at a position near Entrecasteaux Reef and sail direct to Van Diemen's Land. In this decision the French explorer was unfortunate, for if he had continued his examination of the southern coast of New Holland, he would have made all the geographical discoveries that fell to the lot of Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
and Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
a few years later. Then, indeed, a French "Terre Napoléon" might well have become a fact.
The ships anchored in Recherche Bay on 22 January, and a period of five weeks was spent in that area, watering the ships, refreshing the crews, and carrying out explorations into both natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. Beautemps-Beaupré, in company with other officers, surveyed the northern extensions to Storm Bay
Storm Bay
Storm Bay is a large bay in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the entrance to the Derwent River estuary and the port of Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania.It is bordered by Bruny Island to the west and the Tasman Peninsula to the east....
– the western extension was found to be a mouth of a river and received the name Rivière du Nord – it was renamed the Derwent River a few months later by the next visitor to this area, Captain John Hayes
John Hayes (explorer)
Sir John Hayes was an 18th century explorer for the British East India Company, who explored eastern Tasmania and named the Derwent River in 1793.-References:John Hayes is one of the unsung heroes of animation....
in the Duke of Clarence and the Duchess.
On 28 February d'Entrecasteaux sailed from Van Diemen's Land towards the Friendly Islands, sighting New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the Kermadec Islands
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga...
en route. At the Friendly Islands, he found that the natives remembered Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
and Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
well enough, but knew nothing of La Pérouse. He then sailed back to New Caledonia, where he anchored at Balade. The vain search for La Pérouse was then resumed to Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain...
, then along the southern coasts of the Solomon Islands, the northern parts of the Louisiade Archipelago
Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread over an ocean area of between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to...
, through the Dampier Strait
Dampier Strait (Papua New Guinea)
Dampier Strait in Papua New Guinea separates Umboi Island and New Britain, linking the Bismarck Sea to the north with the Solomon Sea to the south, at ....
, along the northern coast of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
and the southern coast of the Admiralty Islands, and thence north of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
to the Moluccas.
By this time, the affairs of the expedition had become almost desperate, largely because the officers were ardent royalists and the crews equally ardent revolutionaries. Kermadec had died of phthisis in Balade harbour, and on 21 July 1793, d'Entrecasteaux himself died of scurvy, off the Hermits.
Commands were re-arranged, with Auribeau taking charge of the expedition, with Rossel in Kermadec's place. The new chief took the ships to Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
. Here it was learned that a republic had been proclaimed in France, and on 18 February 1794 Auribeau handed his vessels to the Dutch authorities so that the new French Government could not profit by them. Auribeau died a month later and Rossel sailed from Java in January 1795 on board a Dutch ship, arriving at Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
in April 1795. There his ship sailed unexpectedly with the expedition's papers, leaving him behind, but this vessel was captured by the British. Rossel then took passage on a brig-of-war, but this too was captured by the British. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802, all the papers of the expedition were returned to Rossel, who was thus enabled to publish a narrative of the whole enterprise.
Quotes
When French explorer Bruni D'Entrecasteaux first saw this island in 1792 it was the forests that impressed him. He wrote of...
- "...trees of an immense height and proportionate diametre, their branchless trunks covered with evergreen foliage, some looking as old as the world;
- "closely interlacing in an almost impenetrable forest, they served to support others which, crumbling with age, fertilised the soil with their debris;
- "nature in all her vigour, and yet in a state of decay, seems to offer to the imagination something more picturesque and more imposing than the sight of this same nature bedecked by the hand of civilised man.
- "Wishing only to preserve her beauties we destroy her charm, we rob her of that power which is hers alone, the secret of preserving in eternal age eternal youth."
Australian places with name
Direct naming occurs at the following:- Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
- Point D'Entrecasteaux 34°50′S 116°0′E
- D'Entrecasteaux National ParkD'Entrecasteaux National ParkD'Entrecasteaux National Park is a national park in Western Australia , south of Perth. The park is named after the French Admiral Bruni D'Entrecasteaux who was the first European to sight the area and name Point D'Entrecasteaux in 1792....
34°36′S 115°56′E
- South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
- D'Entrecasteaux Reef 31°58′S 131°55′E
- TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
- Bruny Island 43°22′S 147°17′E
- D'Entrecasteaux ChannelD'Entrecasteaux ChannelThe D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a region of water between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania. It extends between the estuaries of the Derwent, and the Huon Rivers...
43°15′S 147°15′E - D'Entrecasteaux Monument Historic Site 43°16′S 147°14′E
- D'Entrecasteaux River 43°28′S 146°50′E
- D'Entrecasteaux Watering Place Historic Site 43°34′S 146°53′E
Further reading
- Duyker, Edward and Maryse (editors and translators) (2001) Bruny d’Entrecasteaux: Voyage to Australia and the Pacific 1791—1793, Miegunyah/Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2001, pp. xliii, pp. 392, ISBN 0-522-84932-6 [paperback edition, March 2006, ISBN 0-522-85232-7]
- Edward DuykerEdward DuykerEdward Duyker is an Australian historian and author born in Melbourne, Victoria, to a father from the Netherlands and a mother from Mauritius...
(2003) Citizen LabillardièreJacques LabillardièreJacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
: A Naturalist’s Life in Revolution and Exploration (1755—1834), Miegunyah/Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2003, ISBN 0-522-85010-3, Paperback reprint, 2004, ISBN 0-522-85160-6, pp. 383 [Winner, New South Wales Premier’s General History Prize, 2004]. - Horner, F. B. (1995) Looking for La Perouse : D’Entrecasteaux in Australia and the South Pacific, 1792–1793 Carlton South, Vic. : Miegunyah Press. ISBN 0522844510
- McLaren, Ian F. (1993) La Perouse in the Pacific, including searches by d’Entrecasteaux, Dillon, Dumont d’Urville : an annotated bibliography (with an introduction by John Dunmore). Parkville [Vic.] : University of Melbourne Library. ISBN 0732506018
- Van Duuren, David and Tristan Mostert (2007), Curiosities from the Pacific Ocean. A remarkable Rediscovery in the TropenmuseumTropenmuseumThe Tropenmuseum is an anthropological museum located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and established in 1864.One of the largest museums in Amsterdam, the museum accommodates eight permanent exhibitions and an ongoing series of temporary exhibitions, including both modern and traditional visual...
, Amsterdam: Thirteen Ethnographic Objects from the Bruny d'Entrecasteaux Expedition (1791–1794). Amsterdam: Tropenmuseum / Leiden: C. Zwartenkot. ISBN 0522849326