''Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse'' is an 1800 book that gives an account of the 1791-1793

d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Isle de France from 1787 to 1789. He is best known ...

expedition to

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

. The title refers to the search for La Pérouse, who disappeared in the region in 1788, a popular, though unsuccessful, object of the mission. Many of the discoveries made by the scientists attached to the expedition were published in the two volumes. The author,

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

, was a French botanist on the voyage, engaged to collect and describe the flora of the continent. The work includes some of the earliest descriptions of Australian flora and fauna, and an account of the indigenous peoples of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The work also contains the second ever description of an Australian spider, the species ''

Trichonephila edulis ''Trichonephila edulis'' is a species of large spider of the family Nephilidae, formerly placed in the genus '' Nephila''. It is referred to by the common name Australian golden orb weaver. It is found in Indonesia from Java eastwards, Papua Ne ...

''. Labillardière also describes seeing a dog-sized animal, and discovering the remains of a carnivorous animal, what is considered to be the first European report of a

thylacine The thylacine (; binomial name ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmani ...

. The author of the first description, George Harris, cites this work in an 1804 letter regarding rumours of such an animal. Labillardière's work was published in two volumes, becoming very popular and translated into English in the same year; ''Voyage in search of La Pérouse'' (four editions) was issued by John Stockdale with similar success. The contents include his description of the journey, an atlas, and illustrations of ethnographic and natural history subjects. The work is noted for its early botanical illustrations of Redouté, birds by Jean-Baptiste Audebert, and engravings produced from the surviving illustrations of Piron. The first description of a West Australian eucalypt, '' Eucalyptus cornuta'', and the widely cultivated ''

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree Endemism, endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has most ...

'' are amongst the newly discovered species and genera of flora. Those discovered while anchored at Observatory Island,

Esperance Bay Esperance Bay is a bay on the south coast of Western Australia. Nominally located at , it is the site of the town of Esperance. The bay was discovered on 9 December 1792 by a French expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, which sailed in searc ...

, include ''

Banksia nivea ''Banksia nivea'', commonly known as honeypot dryandra, is a species of rounded shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as bulgalla. It has linear, pinnatipartite leaves with triangular lobes, heads of ...

'', '' Banksia repens'', '' Anigozanthus rufus'' and '' Chorizema ilicifolia''. The botanical descriptions were based on the extensive collections made by Labillardière during the expedition's stop at Esperance Bay, and the two visits to

. The abbreviation Voy.Rech.Perouse is used to refer to this work in botanical literature. The book was published during a time of great interest in the flora of Australia. It was preceded by '' A specimen of the botany of New Holland'' (1793–1795), the first book devoted to the subject. The botanist

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

took a copy of this work on his journey to Australia in 1801, enquiring in his letters home as to whether Labillardière had published his

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. This anticipated work, Labillardière's '' Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen'' (1804–1806), was published before Brown's more comprehensive Prodromus. This work preceded Rossel's English publication of the d’Entrecasteaux journal, Voyage de d’Entrecasteaux envoyage à la recherche de La Pérouse, by nine years.

References

External links

Volume 1
an
Volume 2
of the 1800 English translation on Internet Archive
Volume 1
an
Volume 2
in French via Biblioteca del Real Jardín Botánico
Volume 2
in French also available via Gallica)
Atlas
via Harvard Library
Atlas
also available via Biblioteca del Real Jardín Botánico)
Labillardière and His Relation
article by Edward Duyker, including gallery of images, and comprehensive links to relative public domain online works. {{DEFAULTSORT:Relation du Voyage a la Recherche de la Perouse 1800 non-fiction books Books about Australian history Botany in Australia History of Australia (1788–1850) 1800 in science