416 Transactions. 



Art. XL. — Captain Dumont D'Urville' s Exploration of Tasrnan 



Bay in 1827. 



Translated from the French* by S. Percy Smith, F.R.G.S. 



[Bead before the Auckland Institute, 28th August, 1907.] 



So far as I am aware, no translation of the voyage of the " Astro- 

 labe," under the command of the celebrated French explorer, 

 Dumont D'Urville, has ever appeared in English, though it has 

 been briefly summarised more than once. Hence it will prove 

 of interest to New-Zealanders to see what was accomplished 

 in the way of geographical exploration in Tasman Bay, the 

 " Astrolabe " being the first ship, so far as is known, to actually 

 enter that bay since the time of Tasman in 1642. 



It is proposed to follow this by a translation of the proceedings 

 during the visit of the corvette to Tologa Bay, and to the Wai- 

 te-mata, where Auckland now stands. 



Captain D'Urville made a subsequent visit to New Zealand 

 in 1840, during his long voyage in the same ship, the " Astro- 

 labe," an account of which is published in his " Voyage au Pole 

 Sud et dans l'Oceanie," Paris, 1841. But he did not live to see 

 the completion of the publication, for he, his wife, and son were 

 killed in a railway accident in Paris on the 8th May, 1842, 

 whilst the later volumes were passing through the press. He 

 had been appointed a Rear-Admiral not long previous to his 

 death. 



I have added a few notes to the translation ; they are enclosed 

 in brackets, thus : [ ]. 



The " Astrolabe " left Port Jackson on the 19th December, 

 1826, bound for New Zealand. Captain Dumont D'Urville, 

 in the second volume of his history of the voyage, expresses 

 the feelings of pleasure with which he anticipates renewing 

 his acquaintance with a country which he had previously visited 

 in the same frigate, but then called "La Coquille," in 1824. 

 On this occasion the corvette's course was directed towards 

 the south-west coast of the Middle Island, with the intention 

 of visiting Chalky Inlet, near the south-west cape ; but the 

 passage across the Tasman Sea was so tempestuous, and the 

 wind so contrary, that the commander had to ahandon his 



* Voyage de la corvette L'Astrolube, execute | >;ir ordre du Roi, 

 pendant les annfes 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, sons le oommandement de 

 \T. T. Dumont D'Urville. Paris, I8S3. 



