FRANCE AND
AUSTRALIA
THE "PRISE DE POSSESSION"
by Myra Stanbury
Western Australian Maritime Museum, June 1998.
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On 30 March 1772 the French vessel Gros Ventre, commanded by Louis-François-Marie Aleno de Saint-Aloüarn, anchored off Turtle Bay at the north end of Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay. At 10 a.m., Saint-Aloüarn sent a boat with an officer to reconnoitre the land, accompanied by the boat's crew and five soldiers. |
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The northern coast of Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia |
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Turtle Bay, Dirk Hartog Island & shy;'Baie de Prise
de Possession'
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After landing, they walked about ‘three leagues’ (9 miles/c. 14.5 km) into the country without seeing a living soul. On returning to the coast, M. de Mings [sic] (Mingault or Mengaud—the name is variously spelled in the documents) took possession of the land, hoisting a flag and causing a notification of the fact that he had taken possession to be read in the form usual in such cases. The document was put in a bottle and buried at the foot of a small tree. Near it were put two coins (écus) of 'six francs' each. The ship's log refers to this Bay as the 'Baie de Prise de Possession' (the Bay of Taking of Possession). In January 1998, an expedition led by Mr Philippe Godard of Noumea, assisted by Max Cramer, Kim Cramer, John Eckersley, Tom Bradley and Chris Shine of Geraldton, discovered a French écu bearing the head of King Louis XV and dated 1766 at a site on the cliff top overlooking Turtle Bay. The silver coin, which was encased in a lead capsule, is believed to be associated with Saint Aloüarn's expedition. |
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A French écu bearing the head of King Louis XV and dated 1766
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The significance of the discovery prompted the Western Australian Maritime Museum to launch an expedition, co-ordinated by Curator of Maritime Archaeology, Myra Stanbury, to further examine the site in March–April 1998. On 1 April 1998, at 9.20 a.m., an intact bottle bearing a lead closure similar to that recovered by the Godard team was discovered by expedition team members Bob Sheppard, Bob Creasy and Dr Michael McCarthy, and carefully excavated by terrestrial archaeologist Rodney Harrison of the Centre for Archaeology, University of Western Australia. |
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The bottle and lead closure
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The bottle contained a quantity of sand but no visible sign of a document. In case remains of a parchment existed, a careful conservation strategy, involving non-invasive forensic examination, was decided upon before any attempt was made to open the bottle. Unfortunately, despite thorough examination, no traces of the annexation document were found in the bottle. In December 2002, the book Louis de Saint Aloüarn. Un Breton à la conquête des Terres Australes, co-authored by Philippe Godard and Tugdual de Kerros (a descendant of Saint Aloüarn) was published in Brittany, France. An English translation of the book is being prepared by the Western Australian Museum.
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