Expedition and
Naturaliste Napoléon Bonaparte, as First Consul, formally approved the expedition "to the coasts of New Holland", after receiving a delegation consisting of Baudin and eminent members of the Institut National des Sciences et Arts on 25 March 1800. The explicit purpose of the voyage was to be "observation and research relating to Geography and Natural History." The Baudin expedition departed
Le Havre,
France, on 19 October 1800. Because of delays in receiving his instructions and problems encountered in
Isle de France (now
Mauritius) they did not reach
Cape Leeuwin on the south-west corner of the continent until May 1801. Upon rounding
Cape Naturaliste, they entered
Geographe Bay. During their exploration here they lost a longboat and a sailor, Assistant Helmsman Timothée Vasse. They then sailed north, but the ships became separated and did not meet again until they reached
Timor. On their journeys
Géographe and
Naturaliste surveyed large stretches of the north-western coast. The expedition was severely affected by dysentery and fever, but sailed from Timor on 13 November 1801, back down the north-west and west coast, then across the
Great Australian Bight, reaching
Tasmania on 13 January 1802. They charted the whole length of Tasmania's east coast and there were extensive interactions with the Indigenous Tasmanians, with whom they had peaceful relationships. They notably produced precious ethnological studies of Indigenous Tasmanians. The expedition then began surveying the south coast of Australia, but then Captain
Jacques Felix Emmanuel Hamelin in
Naturaliste decided to make for
Port Jackson (Sydney) as he was running short of food and water, and in need of anchors. En route, in April 1802, Hamelin explored the area of
Western Port, Victoria, and gave names to places, a number of which have survived, for example,
Ile des Français is now called
French Island. Meanwhile, Baudin in
Géographe continued westward, and in April 1802 encountered the British sloop
HMS Investigator commanded by
Matthew Flinders, also engaged in charting the coastline, at
Encounter Bay in what is now
South Australia. Flinders informed Baudin of his discovery of
Kangaroo Island (, ), St. Vincent's and Spencer's Gulfs. Baudin sailed on to the
Nuyts Archipelago, the point reached by the Dutch ship ''
't Gulden Zeepaert'' in 1627, before heading for Port Jackson as well for supplies. In late 1802 the expedition was at
Port Jackson, where the government sold 60 casks of flour and 25 casks of salt meat to Baudin to resupply his two vessels. The supplies permitted
Naturaliste to return to France and
Géographe to continue her explorations of the Australian coast. The expedition reported on the defences of the town and the disaffection of Irish convicts.
Naturaliste took with her the Colony's staff surgeon, Mr. James Thomson, whom Governor
Philip Gidley King had given permission to return to England. Before resuming the voyage Baudin purchased a 30
ton schooner, which he named the , a smaller vessel which could conduct close inshore survey work. He sent the larger
Naturaliste under Hamelin back to France with all the specimens that had been collected by Baudin and his crew. As the voyage had progressed
Louis de Freycinet, now a Lieutenant, had shown his talents as an officer and a hydrographer and so was given command of
Casuarina. The expedition then headed for Tasmania and conducted further charting of Bass Strait before sailing west, following the west coast northward, and after another visit to Timor, undertook further exploration along the north coast of Australia. Plagued by contrary winds, ill health, and because 'the quadrupeds and emus were very sick', it was decided on 7 July 1803 to return to France. On the return voyage, the ships stopped in
Mauritius, where Baudin died of
tuberculosis on 16 September 1803. The expedition finally reached France on 24 March 1804. The scientific expedition was considered a great success, with more than 2500 new species discovered.
Outcomes on Kangaroo Island in 1803 An inscription on a rock was left by members of
Géographe on
Kangaroo Island in 1803, which reads, "", i.e. "Expedition of discovery by Captain Baudin in the
Géographe, 1803". To protect it from erosion, the original rock is now housed at the Gateway Visitor Information Centre on Howard Drive,
Penneshaw, and a fine replica is on open view on the Penneshaw foreshore, beneath a concrete dome which has been a local landmark since 1906. Many Western Australian places still have French names today from Baudin's expedition: for example,
Peron Peninsula,
Depuch Island, Cape Levillain,
Boullanger Island and
Faure Island; and the Australian plant genus
Guichenotia honours the name of
Antoine Guichenot. According to researchers from the
University of Adelaide, during this expedition Baudin prepared a report for
Napoleon on ways to invade and capture the British colony at
Sydney Cove. The Baudin expedition was intended to be a voyage of discovery that would further scientific knowledge and perhaps eclipse the achievements of Captain
James Cook. ==Crew==