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Inauguration du monument eleve par l'Astrolabe a La Perouse a Vanikoro
Inauguration du monument eleve par l'Astrolabe a La Perouse a Vanikoro

Inauguration du monument eleve par l'Astrolabe a La Perouse a Vanikoro

Artist (French, 1801 - 1887)
Date1833
Object number00030614
NameLithograph
MediumPaper, ink.
DimensionsOverall: 295 x 448 mm
Display Dimensions: 351 x 541 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with the assistance of the Louis Vuitton Trust Fund
DescriptionDedication of the monument to La Perouse erected on Captain Dumont d'Urville's orders at Vanikoro in March 1828. This illustration is based on original drawings by Louis Auguste de Sainson and is Plate 187 in the 'Atlas Historique' accompanying the 1833 publication of Dumont d'Urville's voyage account 'Voyage de la corvette Astrolabe'History The ASTROLABE sailed into the Pacific by way of the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. After short stays in King George Sound and in Port Jackson the 'corvette' sailed to New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, New Ireland, New Britain and northern New Guinea before heading south to Hobart where it spent Christmas in 1827. In January 1828 the ASTROLABE made for Vanikoro island where the Franco-Irish sandalwood trader Peter Dillon had found material evidence associated with the La Perouse expedition. La Perouse had sailed from France in 1785 to survey and explore the Pacific, but had disappeared without trace after leaving Botany Bay in March 1788. Arriving at Vanikoro in February 1828, Dumont d'Urville remained there for almost a month. During this stay evidence was found indicating that La Perouse's ships had definitely been wrecked on the reefs fringing Vanikoro. Amongst the objects recovered were cannon and anchors which Dumont d'Urville later took back to France where they were incorporated in a memorial to La Perouse. The expedition also erected a monument to La Perouse at Vanikoro. This illustration is an important historical record of this event.