Page 4 - Pharmacy History 03 Sept 1997

A French Australia? Almost!
The historical background presented by Noelene Bloomfield
Most Australians do not realise just how close Australia came to being partly
French, like Canada, with two languages and cultures. The hundreds of
French names on the Australian coast intrigue anyone who knows French, but until recently our history books have largely neglected this fascinating part of Australia’s history.
France sent approximately 20 expeditions to the Indian and Pacific Oceans between the 16th and 19th centuries and made enormous contributions to scientific knowledge in the fields of anthropology, botany, zoology, astronomy, geography and geology in this part of the world. However, numerous captains, officers, scientists and crew members paid a heavy toll from the viewpoint of their health, as many died of a variety of diseases during the voyage and never returned to France; or they suffered debilitated health for the rest of their lives.
This presentation will also explain why there are so many French names in
a country that was eventually settled by the British; and it suggests some reasons why the French did not finally colonise the continent they wistfully called La France Australe.
As previously mentioned, Australia could easily have had both French and English settlements, like Canada, yet most Australians know little about this part of our early history, as the British wrote their own version of history after ‘snatching it from under the French noses’.
Europeans were aware of the Spice Islands (presently Indonesia) since the 1600s and the Portuguese, Dutch and English were early rivals for
the rich spice trade, with France a
later participant. Britain at first only claimed the eastern side of Australia, to the 135’h degree of eastern longitude.
Gonneville’s reported voyage to the southern oceans in 1503 ended in shipwreck and the loss of all his charts. But the mystery of ‘Gonneville’s Land’ inspired many future French explorers.
In 1738 Bouvet de Lozier explored the commercial potential of the southern oceans; he discovered Bouvet Island,
but reported that it was too cold for a trading or respite port.
Between 1766-69, Bougainville circumnavigated the world; he was almost ship-wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. Bougainville Reef,
Island & Channel, and the colourful bougainvillea vine, remind us of his voyage. Surville was exploring off New Zealand at the same time as Lieutenant James Cook in 1769.
Kerguelen and Saint Alouarn discovered the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean in 1771. Saint Alouarn sailed on to the south-west
tip of Australia, then to Shark Bay in 1772, claiming western Australia for France.
Also in 1772, Marion-Dufresne visited Tasmania, but was killed in New Zealand.
In the mid 1780s, La Perouse explored the Pacific region, visiting South America and many Pacific islands including Hawaii, then Alaska, China, Japan, the Philippines and Russia.
He then sailed into Botany Bay just eight days after the arrival of the First Fleet. He stayed several weeks, but disappeared in mid 1788.
In 1791 Bruny d’Entrecasteaux was sent to find La Perouse and he visited southern Australia and Tasmania in his unsuccessful search. It was not till 39 years later that La Perouse’s ship-wreck was discovered by Peter Dillon, on coral reefs near Vanikoro Island, to the east of the Solomon Islands.
Baudin and Hamelin were sent
out by Napoleon in the Geographe and Naturaliste in 1800. They are responsible for most French names
on the Australian coast and made many significant scientific discoveries, bringing back more than 100,000 specimens and over 2,500 new species.
After Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo (1815), another series of French expeditions began in 1817, first with Freycinet - who smuggled his wife Rose on board - then Duperrey
in 1822, Bougainville the Younger in 1825 and Dumont d’Urville in 1826. The increasing frequency of the French visits alarmed the ‘NSV4’ Governor Ralph Darling, who sent Major Edmund Lockyer to Albany to ‘fly the British flag’ in late December 1826.
Why didn’t the French establish a colony in Australia?
Perhaps the turbulence of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror (1789-94), followed by Napoleon’s obsession with conquering Europe. Or perhaps France thought Britain would honour Saint Alouarn’s 1772 claim, so felt no need to hurry... Nevertheless, the 416 French names left on the Australian coastline form a fascinating ‘mirror’ of pre-and post-revolutionary France.
4 Pharmacy History Australia
volume 5 no 36 FEBRUARY 2009
Noelene Bloomfield nbloomfa!cvllene.mva.edu.au or 61 (0)8 6488 2161