Scientific Notes of Gaudichaud BeaupréBack to Gallery

7th Relache, (At the Port).
Baie des Chiens Marins, (Shark Bay) Nouvelle Hollande, (New Holland) Australia.
Sheet 2. Back.

Stop at the mouth of the Bay Chiens Marins, (Shark Bay, Australia) New Holland, north of the island of Dirck Hartog, 12 September 1818.

On September 17, 1817 Louis de Freycinet left the port of Toulon in command of the . Uranie. on a scientific mission with the objectives of measuring the globe’s southern hemisphere, observing magnetic and meteorological phenomena, as well as reporting on natural history and the customs, products and languages of native peoples.

The expedition stopped at Rio and Mauritius before leaving for Australia and arriving at Shark Bay on September 12, 1818. They carried out botanic and scientific observations as well as sending a party to Dirk Hartog Island until September 26. During this time they encountered a group of Aborigines to whom they presented gifts. The expedition then headed for Timor, continuing northwards to the Marianas and Hawaii. The expedition then turned to head back towards Australia, passing east as well as south of Tonga. On the evening of November 18, the . Uranie. dropped anchor in Neutral Bay, in New South Wales. While there, Freycinet’s botanists set out on various expeditions, including a journey to the Blue Mountains and the newly discovered Bathurst Plains, whereas, for Freycinet himself, the visit became a long series of social events. The "Uranie" sailed through the Sydney heads on Christmas Day 1819.