Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec (12 September 1748 – 6 May 1793) was a French Navy officer. He took part in voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean under

Bruni d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...

, looking for the lost expedition of

Jean-François de La Pérouse Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fr ...

Biography

Early life

Kermadec was born on 12 September 1748 in

Bohars Bohars (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany north-western France. Bohars is twinned with the village of Tarporley in England, United Kingdom Population Inhabitants of Bohars are called ''Boharsiens'' in French. See also ...

, near the city of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

in France, into a Breton family of old nobility, to Jean-Guillaume Huon de Kermadec and his wife Anne du Mescam. His family had a long naval tradition, as both his father and grand-father were also Navy officers. His brother,

Jean-Marie Huon de Kermadec Jean-Marie Huon de Kermadec (Brest, 15 August 1747 — Brest, 31 May 1796) was a French Navy officer. Career Kermadec was born to the family of Anne François du Mesacm de Mescaradec and of Jean Guillaume Huon de Kermadec. He was the brother of ...

, and uncle, François Pierre Huon de Kermadec, were also Navy officers.

Naval career

He served in the American War of Independence, and saw action at the Battle of Ushant in 1778 and the following year was serving aboard the ''Diadème'' during the Capture of Grenada and the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

. In 1781, he was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis. Joining the ship ''Résolution'' in 1785, Kermadec was second in command to

on an voyage to China. He commanded his own ship, the ''Rhône'' in 1789 and later that year joined the

Académie de Marine The Royal Naval Academy of France (french: Académie royale de marine) was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy. This institutionalised an earlier initiative b ...

. From 1790 to 1791, he captained ''Patriote'', part of the squadron under d'Entrecasteaux. In September 1791 he was chosen to command the ''Espérance'' on d'Entrecasteaux's expedition to find the lost ships of

. Kermandec supervised the preparations for the vessels selected for the expedition, his own ''Espérance'' and d'Entrecasteaux's ''Recherche''. Departing from Brest, Kermadec received a promotion to Captain on 29 September 1791. The expedition explored

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, New Caledonia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the

Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...

without finding any trace of La Perouse, before returning to Tasmania in January 1793. The expedition then sailed for

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and onto New Caledonia, where Kermadec died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

on 6 May 1793 at

Balade Balade, also written Balaide, is a village located in the north of New Caledonia. It was the site of the establishment of a Catholic mission in 1843. A church still exists in the village. According to New Caledonia Tourism, the bay of Balade is t ...

. He was discreetly buried on Poudioué, a nearby islet, to prevent the natives from tampering with the body.

Legacy

The

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total ar ...

northeast of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

are named for Huon de Kermadec, as are the

Kermadec Trench The Kermadec Trench is a linear ocean trench in the south Pacific Ocean. It stretches about from the Louisville Seamount Chain in the north (26°S) to the Hikurangi Plateau in the south (37°S), north-east of New Zealand's North Island. Toget ...

, Kermandie, and the Kermandie River, both in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Huonville Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the seat of the Huon Valley Council area and lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. At the 2016 census, Huonville had a population of 2,714 and ...

, the

Huon Valley The Huon Valley, or simply the Huon, is a valley and geographic area located in southern Tasmania, Australia. The largest town is Huonville, with other smaller towns spread across the area. It includes Australia's most southern permanent settl ...

Huon River The Huon River is a perennial river located in the south-west and south-east regions of Tasmania, Australia. At in length, the Huon River is the fifth-longest in the state, with its course flowing east through the fertile Huon Valley and empt ...

also all in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and the

Huon Peninsula Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterr ...

and

Huon Gulf Huon Gulf is a large gulf in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is bordered by Huon Peninsula in the north. Both are named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. Huon Gulf is a part of the Solomon Sea. Its northern boundary is marked by ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. Several plants also bear his name, including the

Huon Pine ''Lagarostrobos franklinii'' is a species of conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It is often known as the Huon pine or Macquarie pine, although it is actually a podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a true pine (Pinace ...

''(Lagarostrobos franklinii)'' of Tasmania, the Proteaceae

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Kermadecia ''Kermadecia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. The genus comprises five species, all endemic to New Caledonia. Its closest relatives are '' Sleumerodendron'' (New Caledonia) and '' Turrillia'' (Fiji, Vanuatu Vanuatu ...

'' of New Caledonia, and the tree '' Metrosideros kermadecensis'' of the Kermadec Islands.

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Huon De Kermadec, Jean-Michel 1748 births 1793 deaths 18th-century Breton people 18th-century explorers French explorers French Navy officers from Brest, France French explorers of the Pacific 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France