1/9/2016. Coral Bay
Last nights 4x4 tour was excellent, taking a new track and getting a better/different view of the coastline. The line of breakers on the reef with only a relatively narrow navigable strip between the reef and the shoreline is remarkable. Ningaloo does not have the extensive reef flat and inner reef of the GBR but would pose similar challenges to wooden hulled sailing boats.
This morning I walked the tide-line south and north of Coral Bay and was struck by the very flat coastal plane that lies behind the shoreline. Reef is relatively close (compared to the GBR) and there is very little to appeal to Voyages sailing along coast. No major sources of fresh water nor of large stands of timber.
I met up with the Murdoch Students who were staying at the Ningaloo Club and confirmed that they only had their lecturer with them. Not a name that I recognised, unfortunately.
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Coral Bay - Murdoch Uni Research Station (Manta Ray)
31/08/2016. Coral Bay Ningaloo WA. The task
for today was to locate the Coral Bay Marine Research Station of Murdoch
University. I had done a Visiting Fellowship with the Freemantle Campus of
Murdoch in 2004 (working with their fisheries population modelling group). Through
those contacts I had an informal introduction to the Station Manager, who had apparently
worked at CSIRO at around the same time that I did (?).
In the event I located the Research Station
and called in. There was about 20 students ready to go out on a research cruise
but no station manager. As luck would have it he had been called away to Perth “for
a few days”. Also no obvious presence of AIMS at the station (but I had heard
that they had been “cut” as a funding/savings measure). So my second-string for
a possible reef trip was not useful. Luckily my commercial “Nature Cruise” had
been spectacularly successful so I had gained 90-95% of what I needed for the
Ningaloo region.
I arranged to tag along on another
foreshore 4x4 drive for this evening with a staff member of the Ningaloo Club. That
will be further south than Coral Bay and dovetails into the Northern cruise I
did by boat. While not the full extent of their Voyage I have seen a fair slice
of this northern coastline that was reported and drawn by the French in
1801-04.
For the rest of the day I walked to the
foreshore for some local photographs of both the foreshore and the proximity of
the coral reef. I also took the opportunity for “Housekeeping” tasks and ran my
laundry through the laundromat, while I worked on my MA Thesis, Introduction
chapter, to be submitted in October.
WA Coral Bay
29/8/2016 10.30 am, finally arrived and checked in to the Ningaloo Club OK but found I was too far from the boat Tour company I had booked, so re-booked with a local group. A failure to understand my needs/plans or from me to communicate, but ultimately solvable. Lots of stuffing around on the Internet.
The lady at the front-desk helped mightly and I spent a little more money than planned. Still within budget. I will get to Monkey Mia (300km away) on the return journey and use the local tourist-flight to get the coverage of Shark Bay.
Before dinner I went with the desk-lady and her friend to feed some feral goats trapped on a nearby cliff edge. High-tides will ultimately subside but until then they are being fed by volunteers. It gave me a perfect chance to take photos of the Coral Bay coastline. The cliff was immediately opposite major navigation markers. I took my small camera for lightness/ease of use while scrambling around on sea-cliffs but it does not have a built-in GPS. Excellent shots of seascapes the French would have seen from the sea. I will be able to compare this when I take the local "Nature tour tomorrow".
Next day I am off at 9.00 for a "Nature tour"
29&30/8/2016. Still fighting the cold I got from the flight over from Cairns, so I was not going to risk "respiratory problems" and will be an observer not a snorkeler on the Nature Cruise.
9.15 am we were loaded onto a small bus and transported to the wharf where we were loaded onto an oversized launch. Just enough room for the 22 people if you sat up front on the bow. However over the next 5 hours I got exactly the view point of the coastline I wanted, matching the "landscapes/seascapes" on the edge of the French charts (drawn from the 1801-04 paintings by Petit). Almost certainly this tour was a retracement of this part of their Voyage.
Extras were Manta ray sightings and a close encounter with a migrating Humpback whale, which also would have been apparent to the 1801 sailors. The coastline in this region is low almost flat with no really major rivers. From an early explorers point of view it would have been very unpromising. Of equal importance was the presence of a hazardous barrier reef. I photographed both the landform and the extensive reef from "deck height" but an aerial view would be the only way the true magnitude of the danger could have been assessed.
Thursday, 25 August 2016
WA Retracement -start
Flew out of Cairns at 8.00 pm, 27/8/2016, to land in Perth WA at 11.30 pm their time, about 5 hours flying time across two time zones. It was raining when I arrived and I got soaked running across the tarmac. I caught a Taxi (no mean feat at midnight on a Saturday in a strange city) and got to an " IBIS Budget" hotel after 12pm. No front desk staff so had to "do battle" with a computer console to book in. Thankfully a load of passengers from a Bali flight arrived so we rang the emergency number and got the night-watchman to book us all in. (When I checked out there seemed to be none of the info that I had given when doing the original booking over the phone! This would explain why I had trouble with the computer; possibly the fact that I was booked for the night of the 27th but had not arrived until very early on the morning of the 28th meant that I had been scrubbed. I think I was lucky to find a bed for the night.)
Sunday 28/8/2016. Simple hotel breakfast and off to town-centre by local bus. Priority was to locate the Coach station to meet the Integrity Tour bus which will take me up the coast from Perth to the Shark Bay/Coral Coast. This bus leaves Perth at 7.30 pm, continues through the night and has at least one bus change (but the schedule is subject to change). I also found the Art Gallery of WA and tried to find artistic depictions of the WA coastline (as this is the longest coast in Australia). Surprisingly little artwork on this subject given its geographic importance. [Almost turning their back on the sea?]
I also located and confirmed my booking with the YHA for my return from the Coral Coast. Weather permitting
Sunday 28/8/2016. Simple hotel breakfast and off to town-centre by local bus. Priority was to locate the Coach station to meet the Integrity Tour bus which will take me up the coast from Perth to the Shark Bay/Coral Coast. This bus leaves Perth at 7.30 pm, continues through the night and has at least one bus change (but the schedule is subject to change). I also found the Art Gallery of WA and tried to find artistic depictions of the WA coastline (as this is the longest coast in Australia). Surprisingly little artwork on this subject given its geographic importance. [Almost turning their back on the sea?]
I also located and confirmed my booking with the YHA for my return from the Coral Coast. Weather permitting
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
Retracement of Baudins 1801-03 voyage along the WA "Coral coast"
Shark Bay was visited by the French explorers:
26 June & 16 July 1801
16 March 1803
While Northwest Cape (?Exmouth and North)
22 July 1801
This part of the French voyage can be retraced via a "road trip" using the modern Coastal highways/roads from Broome to Perth, via a "hop-on hop-off" bus tour. In the event a simple Perth to "Coral coast"bus trip got me to Ningaloo Club at Ningaloo (close to Denham on the accompanying map) and I linked-up with the "Perfect Nature cruise" around the Francis Peron National Park. Peron was a scientist onboard the original Baudin Voyage.
Shark Bay
The itinerary was to fly Cairns Perth 27/8/2016 spend one night in Perth then catch the Integrity Bus "Perth to Coral coast"on the 28th. Booked into the Nigaloo Club from 29/ 8/2016 to 2/9/2016. Francis Peron Park tour/cruise booked 30/8/2016. Itegrity bus back to Perth 2/9/2016 and booked into Perth YHA 3/9/2016 until 6/9/2016 with a cruise/tour of Rottenest Is to be booked ad hoc. Depending on availability a train/bus trip to Albany via Bunbury is possible, to complete the "Geographie Bay"component of the original Baudin voyage.
Retracing the Baudin voyage along the WA coast, initial stages
In planning the retracement I chose a land-based journey, visiting the landings points and viewing the coastline from the sea where possible. Note from the Map that the "Coral coast" from Broome to Shark Bay was closely investigated by the Geographie (red arrows). During this part of the Voyage the tropical fish species drawn and painted by Lesueur would have been collected.
This is a timeline of significant events during Baudin's voyage of exploration around Australia.
Source: The Baudin Legacy Project © 2002-16
The University of Sydney.
ABN: 15 211 513 464. CRICOS
number: 00026A. Phone: +61 2 9351 2222.
Authorised by: Arts
eResearch.
19 October 1800
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste leave the port of Le Havre, in Normandy
|
2 November 1800
|
The two ships drop
anchor in the harbour of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands
|
14 November 1800
|
Departure from
Tenerife
|
3 February 1801
|
The two ships sight
the Cape of Good Hope
|
16 March 1801
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste anchor in Port North-West (now Port Louis)
on the Ile de France (Mauritius)
|
|
Western Australia.
|
Departure from the
Ile de France (Mauritius)
|
|
27 May 1801
|
Cape Leeuwin
sighted, at half past seven in the morning
|
Discovery of
Geographe Bay followed next day by first shore party
|
|
4 June 1801
|
First encounter with
an Australian Aborigine, of the Wardandie tribe, in Geographe Bay
|
8 June 1801
|
Timothée Vasse,
assistant-helmsman on the Naturaliste, drowns in the surf at
Geographe Bay
|
10 June 1801
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste are separated following a storm
|
The Naturaliste anchors
east-north-east of Rottnest Island (rendezvous point) where it will spend two
weeks surveying the Swan River and the various off-shore islands, including
Rottnest Island itself
|
|
20 June 1801
|
The Géographe leaves
Geographe Bay and heads north to Shark Bay, having missed the Naturaliste
|
The Géographe anchors
in Shark Bay, off the northern tip of Bernier Island
|
|
28 June 1801
|
The Naturaliste leaves
Rottnest Island and sets sail for Shark Bay
|
14 July 1801
|
The Géographe leaves
Shark Bay to make for North-West Cape
|
The Naturaliste drops
anchor east of the northern tip of Dirk Hartog Island, opposite the middle
entrance to Shark Bay
|
|
The Géographe sights
North-West Cape then proceeds to survey the coast north-east from there
|
|
19 August 1801
|
With supplies
dwindling, Baudin breaks off his survey of the north-west coast and heads for
Timor
|
The Géographe anchors
in Kupang Bay, Timor
|
|
5 September 1801
|
The Naturaliste leaves
Shark Bay, where it has conducted extensive surveys
|
|
Leaves Western
Australia
|
The Naturaliste arrives
in Kupang Bay, Timor, where it is reunited with the Géographe
|
|
13 November 1801
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste leave Timor bound for Van Diemen's Land
(Tasmania), having lost six men to dysentery in the Dutch colony, including
the gardener Riedlé (21 October); several men on both ships are still
suffering from dysentery and fever on departure from the island
|
23 December 1801
|
The zoologist
Stanislas Levillain dies at sea from fever contracted at Timor
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste sail into D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Van
Diemen's Land, and anchor in Great Taylor Bay (Bruny Island)
|
|
14 January 1802
|
First encounter with
the Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
|
19 January 1802
|
The two ships move
their anchorage to North West Bay, opposite the northern tip of Bruny Island
|
2 February 1802
|
The geographer,
Faure, reports an important correction to the chart of south-east Tasmania:
“Tasman Island" was, in fact, attached by an isthmus (Eaglehawk Neck) to
mainland Tasmania
|
16 February 1802
|
The ships leave
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
|
The Géographe and
the Naturaliste anchor in Great Oyster Bay, on the western
side of Maria Island
|
|
20 February 1802
|
The zoologist René
Maugé dies from dysentery contracted at Timor and is buried on Maria Island
|
27 February 1802
|
The ships leave
Maria Island and head north to continue the survey of the east coast of
Tasmania
|
6 March 1802
|
The Géographe loses
contact with a dinghy containing the geographer Boullanger, midshipman
Maurouard and six sailors, sent to conduct a closer survey of the coast
|
8 March 1802
|
Baudin confined to
bed with colic pains; the two ships become separated during the evening
|
9 March 1802
|
Boullanger's boat
party picked up by an English brig, the Harrington; the Naturaliste encounters
an English schooner, the Endeavour, which is heading for Maria
Island
|
The Géographe encounters
the Endeavour; the Naturaliste encounters
the Harrington at the entrance to Banks Strait and recovers
Boullanger and his boat party; Hamelin begins survey of Bass Strait while
waiting for the Géographe at Banks Strait (not at the agreed
rendezvous point of Waterhouse Island)
|
|
11 March 1802
|
The Géographe breaks
off its search for the lost dinghy and heads north
|
18 March 1802
|
The Naturaliste leaves
Banks Strait to search for the Géographe to the south (along
the east coast of Tasmania)
|
19 March 1802
|
The Géographe sights
Waterhouse Island, the rendezvous point in Banks Strait, but the Naturaliste has
just departed: the two ships have passed one another in the mists
|
24 March 1802
|
After several days
of stormy weather and rough seas, the Géographe heads
towards Wilson's Promontory to begin its survey of the “unknown" south
coast of New Holland
|
The Géographe sights
Wilson's Promontory
|
|
29 March 1802
|
The Géographe leaves
Wilson's Promontory and follows the coast in a westerly direction
|
3 April 1802
|
The Naturaliste regains
Waterhouse Island after its unsuccessful search for the Géographe around
Maria Island; Hamelin undertakes further survey work (Port Dalrymple)
|
7 April 1802
|
Hamelin leaves
Tasmania and heads for the northern side of Bass Strait; a boat party is sent
to fix the position of Wilson's Promontory and chart the coast from there to
Western Port; other boat parties are sent to examine Western Port itself
|
The Géographe meets
the Investigator, commanded by Matthew Flinders, in Encounter Bay
(named by Flinders to commemorate this meeting)
|
|
Flinders visits
the Géographe for a second meeting with Baudin, before the
ships part ways, Flinders following the coast in an easterly direction,
Baudin entering Backstairs Passage to begin his survey of the north coast of
Kangaroo Island and of the two gulfs north of it
|
|
18 April 1802
|
Hamelin leaves Bass
Strait and heads for Port Jackson
|
21 April 1802
|
The Naturaliste sights
Cape Howe, 32 years to the day after Cook's first sighting
|
The Géographe leaves
the gulf waters of South Australia and heads for the Islands of St Peter and
St Francis (Nuyts Archipelago), surveying the western coast of Eyre Peninsula
along the way; the Naturaliste anchors inside the Heads at
Port Jackson
|
|
26 April 1802
|
The Naturaliste shifts
anchorage to Sydney Cove
|
8 May 1802
|
Baudin breaks off
his survey of the south coast, having been unable to round the Islands of St
Peter and St Francis due to unfavourable weather; he decides to head for Port
Jackson, via D'Entrecasteaux Channel (Tasmania)
|
9 May 1802
|
Matthew Flinders
arrives at Port Jackson in the Investigator
|
18 May 1802
|
The Naturaliste leaves
Port Jackson, bound for the Ile de France (Mauritius); Hamelin's first
lieutenant, Milius, is sick and remains in Sydney
|
Weather prevents
Baudin from entering D'Entrecasteaux Channel; he anchors instead in Adventure
Bay, on the eastern side of Bruny Island
|
|
22 May 1802
|
The Géographe leaves
Adventure Bay and makes for the east coast of Tasmania, from Cape Tourville
northwards, en route for Port Jackson
|
4 June 1802
|
Baudin breaks off
his survey of Tasmania's east coast and heads for Port Jackson
|
8 June 1802
|
Hamelin, having been
unable to round the southern point of Tasmania, turns the Naturaliste round
and heads back to Port Jackson
|
The Géographe arrives
in Port Jackson
|
|
28 June 1802
|
The Naturaliste enters
Port Jackson, but does not reach its mooring till 3 July due to calms and
contrary winds
|
22 July 1802
|
Flinders leaves Port
Jackson in the Investigator to complete his circumnavigation
of Australia; he is accompanied by the Lady Nelson, under the
command of Lieutenant John Murray; the Lady Nelson will be
sent back to Port Jackson on 18 October, after a series of mishaps on the
north-east coast of Queensland
|
22 September 1802
|
The French
commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Republic; differing protocols
regarding flags lead to a misunderstanding with the English colonists, who
wrongly accuse the French of slighting their government
|
4 October 1802
|
Baudin writes to the
governor, Philip Gidley King, to defend his men against accusations that they
re-sold spirits purchased from the cargo of the Atlas, in
contravention of regulations; King promptly absolves the French officers of
blame and secures a formal apology from the principal accuser, Captain Kemp
|
18 November 1802
|
The Géographe leaves
Port Jackson accompanied by the Naturaliste, which is to sail
back to France carrying the natural history collection, and the Casuarina,
a schooner purchased in Sydney to conduct closer coastal surveys under the
command of Louis Freycinet
|
Running in for King
Island, Baudin bids farewell to the Naturaliste but Hamelin
is soon forced back by contrary winds; the three ships anchor in Sea Elephant
Bay
|
|
7 December 1802
|
Louis Freycinet, in
the Casuarina, is sent to survey the Hunter Islands, off the
north-west tip of Tasmania; the geographer Faure is sent in a boat to
circumnavigate and chart King Island (the first circumnavigation of the
island)
|
8 December 1802
|
Baudin visits
the Naturaliste for a farewell dinner with Hamelin; as
the Naturaliste is preparing to leave, she is boarded by
Captain Charles Robbins and surveyor Grimes, who have just arrived in
the Cumberland, sent by Governor King to forestall any plans the
French might have for a settlement in Tasmania; Grimes informs Hamelin that
he has been sent to prepare for the establishment of a settlement in
D'Entrecasteaux Channel; Hamelin leaves without consulting Baudin on this
matter
|
9 December 1802
|
Robbins and Grimes
visit Baudin on the Géographe
|
12 December 1802
|
Bad weather forces
Baudin to weigh anchor and move out to sea for the night
|
13 December 1802
|
The Géographe anchors
once more in Sea Elephant Bay
|
15 December 1802
|
The Géographe,
having been forced during the night to leave its anchorage a second time,
loses its longboat which it was towing
|
23 December 1802
|
The Géographe is
finally able to anchor again in Sea Elephant Bay and retrieve the scientists
who have been left on the island; the Casuarina has not yet
returned from its survey of the Hunter Islands
|
24 December 1802
|
The Géographe leaves
King Island at six o'clock in the evening and heads towards the Hunter
Islands hoping to meet the Casuarina
|
27 December 1802
|
Returning to Sea
Elephant Bay, the Géographe is finally reunited with
the Casuarina
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina sight Kangaroo Island and begin their survey
of it, starting with the previously uncharted south coast
|
|
6 January 1803
|
The Géographe anchors
inside Kangaroo Head, in Eastern Cove, near present-day Penneshaw; theCasuarina arrives
the following morning
|
10 January 1803
|
Baudin sends
the Casuarina to conduct a close survey of St Vincent's and
Spencer Gulfs; the men of the Géographe remain on Kangaroo
Island, collecting specimens, looking for water and constructing a new
longboat
|
31 January 1803(?)
|
The Naturaliste calls
in at the Ile de France on its journey home
|
1 February 1803
|
The Géographe weighs
anchor and leaves Eastern Cove, heading west; the Casuarina,
whose return is overdue, is sighted at two in the afternoon running in an
easterly direction but Freycinet does not tack to follow Baudin and the two
ships are separated
|
5 February 1803
|
The Casuarina is
abeam of St Francis Island
|
6 February 1803
|
The Géographe makes
landfall near Streaky Bay
|
7 February 1803
|
The Géographe anchors
in Denial Bay; the area is carefully surveyed and more specimens are
collected
|
10 February 1803
|
The Naturaliste leaves
the Ile de France and heads home
|
11 February 1803
|
The Géographe leaves
Denial Bay
|
The Casuarina arrives
at King George Sound
|
|
17 February 1803
|
The Géographe anchors
in King George Sound and the two ships are reunited
|
20 February 1803
|
On a surveying
excursion, sub-lieutenant Ransonnet encounters an American sealer, the Union,
under the command of Isaac Pendleton, in Two People Bay (so named in
commemoration of this meeting)
|
23 February 1803
|
Captain Pendleton
visits Baudin in King George Sound; he dines with Baudin on the Géographe the
next day
|
1 March 1803
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina leave King George Sound
|
8 March 1803
|
Baudin, having lost
sight of the Casuarina two days earlier, decides to move on
to the rendezvous point of Rottnest Island
|
9 March 1803
|
The Géographe sights
Cape Leeuwin and St Allouarn Island
|
Baudin finds
the Casuarina anchored at Rottnest Island and the two ships
head for Shark Bay
|
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina anchor in Shark Bay, off the north-western tip
of Peron Peninsula
|
|
23 March 1803
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina leave Shark Bay and begin their survey of the
coast from North-West Cape to the Bonaparte Archipelago
|
31 March 1803
|
Matthew Flinders in
the Investigator anchors in Kupang Bay, Timor, after his
survey of the Gulf of Carpentaria
|
8 April 1803
|
Flinders leaves
Timor and heads for Port Jackson
|
|
|
25 April 1803
|
Near Cassini Island,
the French encounter some Malay fishermen on an expedition to fish for
trepang (sea cucumbers)
|
|
Leaves Western
Australia
|
29 April 1803
|
Baudin breaks off
his survey of the north-west coast of New Holland and heads for Timor; his
health has seriously deteriorated
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina arrive at Timor and anchor in Kupang Bay
|
|
3 June 1803
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina leave Timor to survey the north coast of New
Holland, including the Gulf of Carpentaria
|
5 June 1803
|
The astronomer
Bernier dies at sea from fever contracted at Timor
|
7 June 1803
|
The Naturaliste completes
its return journey, arriving at Le Havre, having been briefly detained by the
English in Portsmouth
|
9 June 1803
|
Flinders arrives at
Port Jackson, thereby completing his circumnavigation of New Holland
|
Baudin breaks off
his survey of the north coast of New Holland at a point just east of Melville
Island and decides to head home, via the Ile de France (Mauritius)
|
|
|
Leaves Western
Australia/North Coast
|
24 July 1803
|
The Géographe and
the Casuarina are separated during the night of the 24th-25th in
rough seas and stormy weather
|
The Géographe arrives
at the Ile de France (Mauritius)
|
|
10 August 1803
|
Flinders leaves Port
Jackson in the Porpoise, accompanied by the Cato and
the Bridgewater, bound for England
|
12 August 1803
|
The Casuarina arrives
at the Ile de France (Mauritius)
|
17 August 1803
|
The Porpoise,
carrying Matthew Flinders, and the Cato strike a coral reef
north-east of Hervey Bay, now known as Wreck Reef; on the 26th,
Flinders leaves for Port Jackson in a cutter to arrange a rescue
|
8 September 1803
|
Flinders arrives in
Port Jackson
|
16 September 1803
|
Baudin finally
succumbs to his illness and is buried next day at the Ile de France
(Mauritius); Milius is subsequently given command of the Géographe for
the remainder of the homeward journey
|
21 September 1803
|
Flinders leaves Port
Jackson in command of the Cumberland, accompanied by the Rolla and
the Francis, to rescue those stranded on Wreck Reef
|
7 October 1803
|
Flinders and his
rescue party reach Wreck Reef; four days later, the Francis returns
to Sydney, the Rollaleaves for Canton and the Cumberland,
with Flinders still in command, sets sail for England
|
15 December 1803
|
Flinders arrives at
the Ile de France and anchors in the Baie du Cap
|
16 December 1803
|
The Géographe sets
sail from Port Louis (Ile de France), leaving the Casuarina in
the colony
|
17 December 1803
|
Flinders, in
the Cumberland, is piloted from the Baie du Cap to Port Louis for
an interview with the Governor of the Ile de France, General Decaen; his
passport being for the Investigator, and war having again been
declared between France and England, Flinders is arrested; he will remain in
detention on the island until June 1810
|
3 January 1804
|
The Géographe anchors
in Table Bay at the Cape of Good Hope
|
24 January 1804
|
Departure of
the Géographe from the Cape of Good Hope
|
24 March 1804
|
The Géographe drops
anchor in front of the Ile de Groix, a few kilometres off the coast of
Lorient in Brittany; it anchors next day in the roadstead of Lorient
|
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