The Voyage of the Astrolabe 1837 - 1840

The voyage of the Astrolabe was, arguably, France’s last and greatest scientific voyage of discovery by sail. Under the skilful leadership of Captain Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville, the Astrolabe and the Zélée would discover and claim Adélie land in Antarctica, amass a vast collection of botanical and zoological specimens, and advise the French government against attempting to create a colony at Akaroa in New Zealand.

Captain Dumont d'Urville was born in Normandy, France on 23 May 1790.  He made his first voyage to the Pacific as second-in-command to Duperrey in the Coquille in 1822-25, and returned in command of the Astrolabe (the Coquille renamed) in 1826-29. One of his intentions on this second voyage was to complete Cook’s chart of New Zealand. In doing so he skilfully navigated through French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds and established the existence of D’Urville Island which was named after him. His third and final voyage to the Pacific was with two ships, the Astrolabe and the Zélée, from 1837 to 1840. Charles Jacquinot captained the Zélée. Dumont d’Urville was promoted to rear-admiral on his return from this dangerous, heroic voyage of exploration.

Tragically, Dumont d’Urville had written only three volumes of the official account of the voyage and begun the fourth when he, his wife and son, were killed in a railway accident at Bellevue on 8 May 1842. The remaining volumes of Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l’Oceanie (Voyage to the South Pole and Oceania) were completed by other members of the expedition. The Macmillan Brown Library is privileged to hold the entire set, in total 23 volumes and 7 atlases, written in French.  Some of the major events of this journey included:

A Voyage of Antarctic Discovery Dumont d'Urville ventured twice into Antarctic waters on this voyage. He named Louis Philippe Land and Terre Adélie, claiming part of Antarctica for France. He discovered that Antarctica was a continent.

A Voyage to Akaroa in New Zealand Dumont d'Urville visited Akaroa in April 1840, just two months after the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed in the Bay of Islands.

A Voyage of Scientific Discovery During the 3 year journey, the crew of the Astrolabe recorded a huge amount of scientific data, and amassed a large collection of zoological and botanical specimens.

Resources of Pacific Discovery in the age of the Astrolabe The Macmillan Brown Library has the complete set of 23 volumes and 7 atlases published from this voyage, as well as many other important resources of Pacific discovery in the age of the Astrolabe.

View a timeline for the Voyage of the Astrolabe