Francis Louis Barrallier (1773 – 11 June 1853) was a French-born explorer of 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...

.

Life and career

Barrallier was the son of French naval surveyor. Unusually, despite his French descent he was later employed by the British and came to Australia in April 1800. He was appointed an ensign in the New South Wales Corps

New South Wales Corps

The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...

 by Governor Hunter in July 1800, and was made engineer and artillery officer in August 1801.

His first assignment was to design the Parramatta orphan asylum building. In March 1801 he sailed with Lieutenant James Grant

James Grant (navigator)

James Grant was a British Royal Navy officer and navigator in the early nineteenth century. He made several voyages to Australia and Tasmania, and was the first to map parts of the south coast of Australia.-Early life:...

 in the Lady Nelson

Lady Nelson

The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...

to further explore Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

, and was responsible for the charting of Western Port and other parts of the coast. Barrallier's work on the maps of Jervis Bay, Western Port and some of Bass Strait were recognised by Governor Philip Gidley King

Philip Gidley King

Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...

, who made him engineer and artillery officer in the Corps.

In June a voyage with Grant was made to the Hunter River

Hunter River

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....

, where Barrallier made a survey of Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park...

 and part of the river.

In October–November 1802 he was directed by Governor King to try to find a way over Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

.
He travelled about 140 miles in seven weeks, but had to turn back - at one stage due to unfriendly Aborigines, and later due to a lack of supplies.

He did not succeed in crossing the range. His finishing point was "towards the head of Christy's Creek, about 15 or 16 miles in a direct line southerly from Jenolan Caves

Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves are caves in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia; 175 kilometres west of Sydney. They are the most celebrated of several similar groups in the limestone of the country being the oldest discovered open caves in the world...

".

In the May 1803 he resigned from the New South Wales Corps and left for England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Other examples of his work in Sydney included the design of the fort on Observatory Hill

Observatory Hill

Observatory Hill is the name of several hills around the world including:*Observatory Hill , a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA's Northside.*Observatory Hill, Hong Kong...

 (used as a signal station in the 1950s) and plans for the first vessel built in Sydney.

In 1805 he was appointed a lieutenant in the 90th regiment. In 1806 he was at St Vincent

Saint Vincent (island)

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...

, and in 1809 was present at the capture of the Island of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

.

He was made a captain in 1812. He spent some years making a military survey of the Island of Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, was present at the capture of Guadaloupe in 1814, and was appointed surveyor-general of the island. Barrallier returned to England in 1819. He died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

on 11 June 1853.