History

Labillardiere and the French Explorers in Australia Most Australians are aware of British exploration

in Australia, predominately through Cook’s expedition in 1770 with Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander

as naturalists. Following the establishment of the colony at Farm Cove (Sydney) in 1788, exploration

of the new country continued with the voyages of Matthew Flinders and the work of the naturalists

Robert Brown and George Caley and others. However, the only knowledge most Australian’s have

of the French being here is the brief exchange that occurred between Captain Arthur Phillip on the

First Fleet and the La Perouse expedition in Botany Bay in 1788.

Jacques-Julien Houtou de La Billardiere 1755-1834

La Perouse left Botany Bay and was never seen again. In 1791 the French Government sent an

expedition under the command of Bruny D'Entrecasteaux in search of La Perouse. The expedition,

consisting of two ships, the Recherché and the Esperance, had a team of naturalists including

Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere. They visited Tasmania, including Bruny Island in 1792 and, after

circumnavigating Australia, returned to Tasmania via Western Australia in 1793. Although unsuccessful

in its search for La Perouse, the expedition was of considerable scientific importance.

Labillardiere collected extensively and in 1804-1807 published Novae Hollandiae Plantarum

Specimen, the most comprehensive account of the Australian flora to that time. Labillardière

was born in Alençon, France, on 28 October, 1755 and died in Paris on 8 January 1834. He

studied medicine and botany and travelled on collecting trips widely in Europe and the

South Seas. He also travelled to England, becoming a correspondent of Joseph Banks. He made the

first contact by the expedition with Tasmanian aboriginals in what led to a week of mutual

understanding, feasts, music and athletic contest.

Labillardiere was a committed Republican and on the return voyage from Australia, whilst in

Indonesia, his ship was captured by Royalist forces and his collection of plants and animals was

seized. The collection found its way to Britain, then at war with France, and it was only after Banks

intervened that it was returned to its owner in Paris.

The French are remembered today mainly through the place names in Western Australia and on

the east coast of Tasmania. Names such as Recherché Bay, Bruny Island, Frederick Henry Bay, the Huon

River, Esperance, Esperance Bay, Recherché Archipelago and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.

They have also left a rich scientific legacy through their extensive collections and publications.