1837-01-01

Seurin, Pierre

Astrolabe (Frigate)

Pacific ocean

journal

MLMSS 9930/Box 1X

9WZWrJ0Y

Request at location

In copyright
Research & study copies allowed: Author has been deceased for more than 50 years
Rights and Restrictions Information: No publication without prior written approval of copyright holder
Please acknowledge: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

1837 to 1840

Full title: Manuscript account of the voyage on the Astrolabe written by Pierre Seurin, 1837-1840, together with a commemorative medallion for the expedition engraved with Seurin’s name, 1837

0.16 metres of textual material (1 outsize folder), 1 object – 55 mm diam. – metal medallion

A small, leather bound volume, 164 pages, hand written in ink, ca. 1840. A cast metal commemorative medallion for the Astrolabe’s voyage, 50 mm in diameter, with P. Seurin hand engraved on its edge, ca. 1837.

Pierre Seurin’s journal provides a firsthand account of Dumont d’Urville’s second expedition to the Pacific on board the Astrolabe (1837-1840). Seurin frequently refers to voyages of previous explorers as they come across relevant parts of the Pacific, including Bougainville, La Perouse and d’Entrecasteaux. He records daily duties on board the ship and often notes the activities of hydrographer Clement Adrien Vincendon-Dumoulin, who was the first to spot the Antarctic mainland from the Astrolabe’s crow’s nest on 21 January 1840. Whilst in Hobart, Seurin describes the temperate climate and discusses the establishment of an English penal colony there in 1804 which he notes has since developed. He comments that some of the convicts were kept in chains while others are free to dress as they wish, though must report every Sunday at church for roll call. Seurin devotes several pages to describing the charting of the Antarctic coastline and describes the naming of Adelie Land after d’Urville’s wife. The journal concludes with a list of all the anchorages made on the journey which provides a clear summary of the voyage. The format of the journal suggests that it is a fair copy Seurin wrote shortly after his return to France in 1840.

Manuscripts

Medals