D'Urville's Expedition, 1840.

The French Government has always been, if not superior to our own, at any rate quite abreast of it in the number of Expeditions sent out for scientific research to the Pacific, and on to the New Zealand coast, and D'Urville, the most successful of all French navigators, was placed in command of one which we are now about to describe. The two vessels comprising it were the Astrolabe and the Zelee, and they set sail from France in 1837, but it was not until the early part of 1840 that they were at Hobart en route to New Zealand.

Aided by a favourable breeze the Expedition reached Sarah's Bosom on 10th March, after a voyage of five days from Tasmania, and the members saw, as they reached the Bay, a large vessel, and heard guns fired. This proved to be the brig Porpoise of the United States Expedition. The following day the Astrolabe entered the Bay and cast anchor.

Close to the beach was a small hut, built some time before by the sailors of the French whaler Nancy, which M. Dumoulin at once proceeded to make use of for his scientific work. On a low point which had been cleared by the whalers, was flying a red flag, marking the burial place of some men from whaling vessels. One of the graves had a wooden cross erected to the memory of M. Lefrancois of Nantes, who had committed suicide there in 1837, through grief at the failure of an invention of his for killing whales. The notice left by the Porpoise was found in the hut.

Though the United States brig had sailed, the Frenchmen were not alone. A Portuguese whaler, called the Speculacao, commanded by an Englishman named Robinson, had arrived there some five days before and had page 328 cast anchor at the head of the Bay. Her boats, returning from a seal hunting expedition, made known to D'Urville her presence. The following day the whaler was visited and the Expedition learned that the Portuguese Government had given a subsidy to develop the whaling trade, and that this vessel was the first to be fitted out at Lisbon, five months before, and that she had made for the Auckland Islands after an unsuccessful cruise on the New Zealand coast.

During the stay of the Astrolabe and the Zelee their scientists took advantage of the kindness of Captain Robinson, and accompanied his whaling and sealing boats in their different expeditions. All made mention of the widely scattered indications of whalers' habitations, and of the success which attended the planting of potatoes and of vegetables generally.

After a very busy stay in Sarah's Bosom the Expedition sailed, on 20th March, for the South Coast of New Zealand.

Though the Snares were sighted on 22nd March, it was not until the twenty-sixth that the survey of the New Zealand coast-line could be taken up. When passing Pegasus Bay they were hailed by a boat manned by English sailors, the headman of which offered his services to pilot the ships in, but D'Urville decided not to delay, and contented himself with simply buying some fish and vegetables from the would-be pilots, paying them with arrack, biscuit, and money. He was told that there were about twenty English sailors settled on the shores of Foveaux Strait, and that they grew great quantities of provisions for the whaling ships which frequented the bays.

The next day the Expedition was across Foveaux Strait, and at 10 a.m. was visited by three whaleboats manned by Europeans from the whaling stations at Waikawa or Tautuku. The stay of these men on board was not prolonged, and they caused the impression on the French ships of being deserters from Sydney, or escapees from whalers, page 329 to whom the surroundings of a man-of-war were not congenial.

On 30th March Otago was reached, and four ships were found lying at anchor; two were Americans, one English, and one French. The last named was the Havre under the command of Captain Privat, already mentioned.

D'Urville lost no time in landing his officers to carry on their scientific work, particularly in regard to the survey of the bay and the fixing of its position. The spot chosen for this was near the dwelling-place of the Europeans engaged in the whaling, and at the spot where the whales were brought to be cut up.

The French Commander's description of the condition of things he found at Otago shows us that the descriptions given by the Missionaries at the stations further north were not at all exaggerated.

The Maoris presented much the type of those D'Urville had seen on his former visits, but they were far from having gained from their contact with the sailors. Generally they were clothed in European fashion, but their clothing served only to incompletely cover their filthiness, and gave them the appearance of beggars covered with rags. They appeared to have renounced all ideas of independence, or any quality of warriors which they had once had, and passed their lives on board the ships in the bay, the men begging the Europeans to give them some scraps to eat while the women, hideous to look upon, placed no limits upon the depth of degradation to which they were prepared to sink.

During the stay of the vessels the natives never ceased attempting to sell what they had, for money or European clothes. The provisions they offered consisted of pigs and potatoes, the price for a pig being from 16 to 18 shillings, but their flesh was disliked so much by the Frenchmen that D'Urville would not purchase them, and confined himself to buying the potatoes which were of excellent quality.

Taiaroa honoured D'Urville by calling upon that officer page 330 when confined to the Astrolabe by the gout. The following description is given of the old Maori warrior:—

“Taiaroa presented himself on board the Astrolabe, accompanied by many of his people, clad like him, in rags. He told me that he had come to salute me. but I was not slow to see he had another design, that of fleecing me. During several hours that he passed on board he did nothing else but beg. He coveted above all cloth, of which he was very greedy, finally he showed himself under the light of a skilful rogue, more than in that of a chief of warriors. To rid myself of them, and in the interest of French vessels which might afterwards come to anchor in the Bay, I proceeded to give him some fathoms of cloth; but, far from satisfying him, this man of insatiable avidity wanted to put a higher price still on the protection he was incapable of, and of which he could not give any manifest proof. He became so pressing in his demands, that he ended by fatiguing me, and I turned my back upon him.”

D'Urville describes the conditions under which the European portion of the inhabitants lived. There were about a dozen small cottages surrounded with gardens containing all the vegetables of Europe. Two of these cottages were transformed into taverns which were habitually frequented by the fishermen, and the sailors off the whalers in the Bay, and. above all, by the Natives who came to spend their money as soon as they procured it. The proprietors of the taverns did an excellent business and perfectly understood the needs of the society in the midst of which they dwelt. They sold, at a high figure, the vilest of liquor.

Round the villages were small potato cultivations, and, in the forest, cultivations of potatoes, lettuce, and turnips. These belonged chiefly to Europeans, but the work was always performed by the Maori women, though at times payment in brandy would induce a man to undertake tillage. Following the invariable custom of civilized men when page 331 residing with savages the Europeans led a life of indolence and disorder, abandoning all their work to their Native women, without whom they confessed they could not live.

On 3rd April, under direction of a local pilot, the Expedition crossed the bar and sailed for Akaroa.

On the journey along the coast great numbers of whales were sighted, and two whalers were passed, one showing French colours. At Akaroa the Astrolabe was nearly lost through the wind falling when she was in the middle of the entrance, and the ship being carried on to the western point. A favourable breeze, however, sprung up at the moment that the destruction of the commander's ship appeared certain, and enabled the sails to be filled and the vessel removed to a place of safety.

Of the two vessels at anchor in the Bay, one was the Gange, and one of her boats came to the help of the Astrolabe with a towline when that vessel was in trouble. Three other French whalers were at Piraki and their commanders at once repaired to Akaroa to meet D'Urville. They told him that Piraki was preferable for whalers; although the bay was more exposed to the S.W. winds than was Akaroa and vessels often had trouble while anchored, yet the boats were able to get out to the whales much more easily than in the larger bay.

While at anchor D'Urville sent one of his boats to transport a large anchor from the Gange to the Heva, at Piraki, and the officer who successfully carried out this work mAde a survey of Hempleman's little bay. The commander of the Pauline, also at anchor at Piraki, was supplied with some copper for repairs to his rudder.

D'Urville tells us that he spent a very pleasant day around and at the farm established at Akaroa under Mr. and Mrs. Green. By this time the dairy produce of the farm was available for the whaling ships which frequented the Bay. and the officers of the Astrolabe and Zelee obtained sufficient for their wants at a price which they considered quite reasonable.

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Akaroa did not impress the Commander as a very good site for a colony. It appeared to him unsuitable to support anything like a numerous population, and he says that in choosing this place to found an establishment the French Government only considered the beauty of the port, the facilities for defending it, and the resources it offered to the whalers.

It is not known whether D'Urville knew that the arrangements made by his Government had miscarried, when he gave expression to this opinion, to cover their retreat. If it was a bona fide expression of his opinion, the history of New Zealand has shown its accuracy by placing the capital of the surrounding country on another site.

It will be noted that no attempt was made to hoist the French flag. It would have been in time had it been done.

The Expedition sailed for the Bay of Islands on 17th April and arrived at that port just as H.M.S. Herald was going out, southward bound, to proclaim British Sovereignty over the South Island.