Terre Napoleón; a History of French Explorations and Projects in AustraliaScott, Ernest, Sir
History
Terre Napoleón; a History of French Explorations and Projects in Australia
Scott, Ernest, Sir
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Baudin, Nicolas, 1754-1803; Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
north-west, they appear on the French charts in the following order: 1,
Cap Buffon; 2, Cap Lannes; 3, Baie de Rivoli; 4, Cap de Jaffa; 5, Cap
Rabelais; 6, Cap Dombey; 7, Baie de Guichen; 8, Cap Bernoulli; 9, Baie
Lacepede; 10, Cap Morard de Galles; 11, Cap Fermat; 12, Cap Monge 13, Cap
Caffarelli; 14, Cap Villars; 15, Baie Mollien; 16, Cap Mollien 17, Baie
Cretet; 18, Cap Cretet; 19, Iles Decaen; 20, Cap Decaen; 21, Cap
Montelivet. On the large Continental map constructed by the Department of
Lands and Survey, State of Victoria, 1879, the order of the names
included is as follows: 1, Buffon; 2, Rivoli; 3, Lannes; 4, Guichen; 5,
Jaffa; 6, Lacepede. Rabelais, Dombey, Bernoulli, and the rest are
omitted, the draftsman evidently being unable to find features to which
to apply them. On the large map compiled in the office of the
Surveyor-General, State of South Australia, 1892, the order of the names
is: 1, Buffon; 2, Rivoli; 3, Rabelais; 4, Lannes; 5, Dombey; 6, Guichen;
7, Jaffa; 8, Lacepede. On the excellent map in M'Lean's New Atlas of
Australia, 1886, we find: 1, Buffon; 2, Rivoli; 3, Lannes; 4, Guichen; 5,
Jaffa; 6, Lacepede. Flinders, on his separate chart of this part of the
coast, found features for the names of Buffon, Lannes, Rivoli, and
Bernoulli, but left out Rabelais, Dombey, Guichen, and Lacepede. In no
case is the cape or bay on the Terre Napoleon chart of this part of the
coast a tolerably good representation of an actuality.) Where are Cap
Monge, Cap Caffarelli, Cap Mollien, Cap du Mont St. Bernard, Ile
Latrelle, or Baie Descartes? They are not to be found. Freycinet* (*
Preface to the 1824 edition of the Voyage de Decouvertes page 13, note.)
complained that Flinders, on his charts, had erroneously applied the
French names between Cap Monge and Cap Lannes. It was a singular
complaint to make, seeing that Flinders gave the French full credit for
their discoveries, whilst they omitted all reference to his work on their
charts. But Flinders' difficulty was that of all later map-makers: he
could not find all the places to which Baudin had given names. He did his
best; but it is evidently easier to sprinkle a coast-line with the
contents of a biographical dictionary, than to fit all the names in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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