Letter from Joseph Paul Gaimard and Jean René Constant Quoy to Louis de Freycinet, 1827

Out of copyright. Please acknowledge: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

1 manuscript letter Autograph letter signed, from [J.] P. Gaimard and [J. R. C.] Quoy to Louis de Freycinet, (letter number 15, 'duplicata') sent from Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land, 25 December 1827 (7 numbered pages, with a postscript continued on the 8th, on two folded sheets) [in the hand of a copyist, with postscript in Gaimard's hand]. Letter is jointly signed by Gaimard and Quoy. Letter is annotated by Louis de Freycinet 'Lettre de Messieurs Quoy et Gaimard' at top left of first page, and 'Suite de la lettre de Messieurs Quoy et Gaimard' at top of second bifolium (page 5). This letter was published in the Bulletin de la Société de géographie, vol. 10, 1828, pp. 169-180. In this letter Gaimard and Quoy record events prior to their arrival in Hobart on 18 December 1827. They describe the difficulties in surveying the coasts of New Zealand and the near loss of the ship in the Bay of Plenty during a violent hurricane. At Tonga, they again narrowly avoided losing the ship on a reef, but a ship's boat with eight men under the command of Faraguet was held hostage by the islanders and a skirmish with Tongans resulted in a French sailor being speared. From Tonga they visited Fiji, Huon Island in New Caledonia, the Louisiade Archipelago, Rossel Island, New Ireland and again come within minutes of losing the ship. They then sailed along the north coast of New Guinea and on to Amboine [Ambon Island], then past Timor and onwards to Hobart. It was noted that it had not rained in Hobart for nine months and the weather was cold. In a postscript, they report that they have sent that day 1400 drawings to the Academy. They also report the sad loss of Master Bérenguier, who had been second carpenter on the Uranie voyage. The letter would be sent by way of Cape Horn. Another, containing the rest of the Vocabularies, would go via the Cape of Good Hope.

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