La Perouse, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Lapérouse is a suburb
in south-eastern
Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. The suburb of Lapérouse is located about 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district
, in the City of Randwick
.
The Lapérouse peninsula is the northern headland of Botany Bay
. It is notable for its old military outpost at Bare Island and the Botany Bay National Park
. Congwong Bay Beach, Little Congwong Beach, and the beach at Frenchmans Bay provide protected swimming areas in Botany Bay. Lapérouse is one of few Sydney suburbs with a French name, others being Sans Souci
and Vaucluse
. Kurnell
is located opposite, on the southern headland of Botany Bay.
had commissioned Lapérouse to explore the Pacific In April 1770 James Cook
's expedition had sailed onto the east coast of Australia whilst exploring the south Pacific searching for Terra Australis or ‘Land of the South’. Upon King Louis XVI's orders, Lapérouse departed Brest, France, in command of Astrolabe and Boussole on 1 August 1785 on a scientific voyage of the Pacific Inspired by the voyages of Cook. Lapérouse in Sydney's south is named after the leader of this French expedition.
Lapérouse’s two ships sailed to New South Wales after some of his men had been attacked and killed in the Navigator Islands (Samoa). Astrolabe and Boussole arrived off Botany Bay on 24 January just six days after Captain Arthur Phillip
(1738–1814) had anchored just east of Bare Island, in H.M. Armed Tender Supply. On 26 January 1788, as Phillip was moving the First Fleet around to Port Jackson after finding Botany Bay unsuitable for a Settlement, Lapérouse was sailing into Botany Bay, anchoring there just eight days after the British had.
The British received Lapérouse courteously, and offered him any assistance he might need. The French were far better provisioned than the English were, and extended the same courtesy but apparently neither offer was accepted. The commander of the Fleet, Captain Phillip, ordered that two British naval vessels, Sirius and Supply, meet the French. Contrary to popular belief, the French did not have orders to claim Terra Australis for France and the arrival of the French ships Astrolabe and Boussole and their meeting with the ships of the British expedition was cordial and followed normal protocols. Lapérouse subsequently sent his journals and letters to Europe with the British ship, the Sirius.
The expedition's naturalist and chaplain, Father Reçeveur, died in February after a skirmish the previous December in Samoa with the inhabitants, in which Langle, commander of Astrolabe and 12 other members of the French expedition were killed. Reçeveur, injured in that skirmish, died at Botany Bay and was buried at Frenchmans Cove below the headland that is now called Lapérouse, not far from the Lapérouse Museum. The place was marked by a tin plate but the local Aborigines quickly removed it. The British replaced it with another and tended the site. In 1824 the tree was inscribed by Victor-Charles Lottin (1781-1846), an ensign visiting with Louis Isidore Duperrey
. The following year, Hyacinthe de Bougainville
paid for the tombstone that is on the site today. It was designed by Government Architect George Cockney (1799-1876). Reçeveur was the second European to be buried in Australian soil, the first being Sutherland from Cook’s 1770 expedition who is buried at nearby Kurnell on the other side of the Botany Bay headlands.
The French stayed at Botany Bay for six weeks and built a stockade, observatory and a garden for fresh produce on what is now known as the Lapérouse peninsula. After completing the building a longboat (to replace one lost in the attack in the Navigator Islands) and obtaining wood and water, the French departed for New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, the Solomons, and the Louisiades. Lapérouse wrote in his journals that he expected to be back in France by December 1788, but the two ships vanished. The last official sighting of the French expedition was in March 1788 when British lookouts stationed at the South Head of Port Jackson saw the expedition sail from Botany Bay. The French expedition was wrecked a short time later on the reefs of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands during a cyclone sometime during April or May 1788, the circumstances remained a mystery for 40 years. Some of the mystery was solved in 1826 when items associated with the French ships were found on an island in the Santa Cruz group, with wreckage of the ships themselves discovered in 1964.
More recently two major expeditions have been mounted to explore the sites in Vanikoro.
In May 2005, the wreck was formally identified as that of the Boussole. The 2005 expedition was embarked aboard Jacques Cartier, a French naval vessel. The ship supported a multi-discipline scientific team to investigate the "Mystery of Lapérouse". The mission was called "Opération Vanikoro-Sur les traces des épaves de Lapérouse 2005".
A further similar mission was mounted in 2008. Between 16 September and 15 October 2008 two French Navy boats set out from Noumea (New Caledonia) for a voyage to Vanikoro, recreating that section of the final journey of discovery made by Lapérouse.
The first building in the area was the round stone tower constructed in 1820-22 as accommodation for a small guard of soldiers stationed there to prevent smuggling, and the tower still stands today. By 1885, an Aboriginal
reserve had been established in the suburb and a number of missions were operated in the area. The original church was dismantled and moved to the corner of Elaroo and Adina Avenues, where it still stands.
A kiosk was built in 1896 to cater for tourists who came to see the attractions, including the snake-handling shows that still operate today. During the Great Depression
, from the late 1920s, many severely affected low-income families took up residence here in settlements beside the Aboriginal reserve.
The small island just inside the heads was described by Captain James Cook
as ‘a small bare island’. Bare Island was fortified in 1885, according to a design by colonial architect, James Barnet
(1827–1904), and fitted with heavy guns. In 1912 Bare Island became a retirement home for war veterans, which continued to operate until 1963 when it was handed over to the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service for use as a museum and tourist attraction.
Apart from the fortification on Bare Island two other fortifications are located within Lapérouse, one of them, Fort Banks is located on Cape Banks. This facility was part of the Eastern Command Fixed Defences unit, it was designed and positioned in a way that would allow it to protect the approaches to Botany Bay in the event of a sea born attack during the World War II period. Henry Head Battery
, constructed 1892 - 1895, operated until 1910, upon which the fort became obsolete. The battery along with two gun-emplacements and observation posts was recommissioned for use during the second World War.
to run south along Flinders Street, then into its own tram reservation along the eastern side of Anzac Parade
beside Moore Park
. It then proceeded down the centre of Anzac Parade through Maroubra Junction, and Malabar
to its balloon loop terminus at Lapérouse. At Malabar, a single line branched off to serve Long Bay Gaol
. The line was double track throughout. The line reached Lapérouse in stages from 1900 to 1902. The Loop is the circular track that was built as part of the Sydney tram terminus at Lapérouse. Closure was supported by the NRMA
, but generally went against public opinion. Nevertheless, closure became Labor government policy and the system was wound down in stages, with withdrawal of the last service, to Lapérouse in 1961. The line followed the current route of bus 394.
The Lapérouse Museum contains maps, scientific instruments and relics recovered from French explorers. A walking trail from the museum to the Endeavour Lighthouse, offers spectacular views across the bay to the site of Captain Cook's Landing Place. The large Lapérouse Monument is an obelisk erected in 1825 by the French, is located close to the museum and another memorial marks the grave of Father Reçeveur. The fortified Bare Island is linked by a footbridge. The Museum was originally built as cable station to house the operation of the first submarine telegraph communications cable laid between Australia and New Zealand. This cable also served as the first link in telegraph communications between New Zealand and the rest of the world. After the cessation of telegraph communications, the building served as a home for orphans run by the Salvation Army
, with the children attending Lapérouse Public School when this first opened in the early 1950s.
Visitors can learn about the indigenous significance of the area from the Aboriginal people of the area, with boomerang-throwing demonstrations often held on weekends and Aboriginal guided tours operating from Yarra Bay House during the week. Aboriginal artefacts are produced and sold by locals. An outdoor reptile show is also a well-known tourist attraction in the pit, at The Loop, on Sunday afternoons. The reptile shows were begun by George Cann in the early 1920s and the tradition has been continued by members of the Cann family ever since.
Lapérouse has a few cafés and restaurants around the historic precinct, close to Frenchmans Bay.
Scuba divers here can see the common (weedy) sea dragon, red Indianfish, pygmy pipefish and big belly sea horses as well as all the normal fish found on dive sites in the Sydney area.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
in south-eastern
South-eastern Sydney
South-Eastern Sydney is a term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the south and east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.The area stretches from the inner city to the foreshores of Botany Bay...
Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The suburb of Lapérouse is located about 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
, in the City of Randwick
City of Randwick
The City of Randwick is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of Sydney's largest parks, Centennial Park, lies within the city boundary of Randwick. Other major landmarks in Randwick include the world-famous Randwick Racecourse,...
.
The Lapérouse peninsula is the northern headland of Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
. It is notable for its old military outpost at Bare Island and the Botany Bay National Park
Botany Bay National Park
Botany Bay National Park is a national park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia located approximately 16 km south east of the Sydney central business district, on the northern and southern headlands of Botany Bay...
. Congwong Bay Beach, Little Congwong Beach, and the beach at Frenchmans Bay provide protected swimming areas in Botany Bay. Lapérouse is one of few Sydney suburbs with a French name, others being Sans Souci
Sans Souci, New South Wales
Sans Souci is a southern Sydney suburb in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sans Souci is 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah. It is part of the St George area.Sans...
and Vaucluse
Vaucluse, New South Wales
Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Vaucluse is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra....
. Kurnell
Kurnell, New South Wales
Kurnell is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kurnell is located south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
is located opposite, on the southern headland of Botany Bay.
History
Lapérouse was named after the French navigator Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741–88), who landed on the northern shore of Botany Bay west of Bare Island in January 1788 only days after the first fleet of convicts arrived in Australia . Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
had commissioned Lapérouse to explore the Pacific In April 1770 James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's expedition had sailed onto the east coast of Australia whilst exploring the south Pacific searching for Terra Australis or ‘Land of the South’. Upon King Louis XVI's orders, Lapérouse departed Brest, France, in command of Astrolabe and Boussole on 1 August 1785 on a scientific voyage of the Pacific Inspired by the voyages of Cook. Lapérouse in Sydney's south is named after the leader of this French expedition.
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
(1738–1814) had anchored just east of Bare Island, in H.M. Armed Tender Supply. On 26 January 1788, as Phillip was moving the First Fleet around to Port Jackson after finding Botany Bay unsuitable for a Settlement, Lapérouse was sailing into Botany Bay, anchoring there just eight days after the British had.
The British received Lapérouse courteously, and offered him any assistance he might need. The French were far better provisioned than the English were, and extended the same courtesy but apparently neither offer was accepted. The commander of the Fleet, Captain Phillip, ordered that two British naval vessels, Sirius and Supply, meet the French. Contrary to popular belief, the French did not have orders to claim Terra Australis for France and the arrival of the French ships Astrolabe and Boussole and their meeting with the ships of the British expedition was cordial and followed normal protocols. Lapérouse subsequently sent his journals and letters to Europe with the British ship, the Sirius.
Louis Isidore Duperrey
Louis Isidore Duperrey was a French sailor and explorer.Duperrey joined the navy in 1800, and served as marine hydrologist to Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet aboard the Uranie...
. The following year, Hyacinthe de Bougainville
Hyacinthe de Bougainville
Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, baron de Bougainville was a French naval officer. He was the son of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville...
paid for the tombstone that is on the site today. It was designed by Government Architect George Cockney (1799-1876). Reçeveur was the second European to be buried in Australian soil, the first being Sutherland from Cook’s 1770 expedition who is buried at nearby Kurnell on the other side of the Botany Bay headlands.
The French stayed at Botany Bay for six weeks and built a stockade, observatory and a garden for fresh produce on what is now known as the Lapérouse peninsula. After completing the building a longboat (to replace one lost in the attack in the Navigator Islands) and obtaining wood and water, the French departed for New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, the Solomons, and the Louisiades. Lapérouse wrote in his journals that he expected to be back in France by December 1788, but the two ships vanished. The last official sighting of the French expedition was in March 1788 when British lookouts stationed at the South Head of Port Jackson saw the expedition sail from Botany Bay. The French expedition was wrecked a short time later on the reefs of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands during a cyclone sometime during April or May 1788, the circumstances remained a mystery for 40 years. Some of the mystery was solved in 1826 when items associated with the French ships were found on an island in the Santa Cruz group, with wreckage of the ships themselves discovered in 1964.
More recently two major expeditions have been mounted to explore the sites in Vanikoro.
In May 2005, the wreck was formally identified as that of the Boussole. The 2005 expedition was embarked aboard Jacques Cartier, a French naval vessel. The ship supported a multi-discipline scientific team to investigate the "Mystery of Lapérouse". The mission was called "Opération Vanikoro-Sur les traces des épaves de Lapérouse 2005".
A further similar mission was mounted in 2008. Between 16 September and 15 October 2008 two French Navy boats set out from Noumea (New Caledonia) for a voyage to Vanikoro, recreating that section of the final journey of discovery made by Lapérouse.
Historic structures
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
reserve had been established in the suburb and a number of missions were operated in the area. The original church was dismantled and moved to the corner of Elaroo and Adina Avenues, where it still stands.
A kiosk was built in 1896 to cater for tourists who came to see the attractions, including the snake-handling shows that still operate today. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, from the late 1920s, many severely affected low-income families took up residence here in settlements beside the Aboriginal reserve.
The small island just inside the heads was described by Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
as ‘a small bare island’. Bare Island was fortified in 1885, according to a design by colonial architect, James Barnet
James Barnet
James Johnstone Barnet was the Colonial Architect for New South Wales from 1862 - 1890.-Life and career:Barnet was born at Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland. The son of a builder, he was educated at the local high school...
(1827–1904), and fitted with heavy guns. In 1912 Bare Island became a retirement home for war veterans, which continued to operate until 1963 when it was handed over to the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service for use as a museum and tourist attraction.
Apart from the fortification on Bare Island two other fortifications are located within Lapérouse, one of them, Fort Banks is located on Cape Banks. This facility was part of the Eastern Command Fixed Defences unit, it was designed and positioned in a way that would allow it to protect the approaches to Botany Bay in the event of a sea born attack during the World War II period. Henry Head Battery
Henry Head Battery
The Henry Head Battery is an artillery battery located on the northern side of the entrance to Botany Bay at Henry Head, La Perouse, New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
, constructed 1892 - 1895, operated until 1910, upon which the fort became obsolete. The battery along with two gun-emplacements and observation posts was recommissioned for use during the second World War.
Trams
The former Lapérouse tram line branched from Oxford Street at Taylor Square in DarlinghurstDarlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
to run south along Flinders Street, then into its own tram reservation along the eastern side of Anzac Parade
Anzac Parade, Sydney
Anzac Parade is a major road in the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It included part of the marathon during the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the blue line denoting the marathon's path still exists today.-Description:...
beside Moore Park
Moore Park, New South Wales
Moore Park is a large area of parkland in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Centennial Parklands, a collective of three parks being Moore Park, Centennial Park and Queens Park. Centennial Parklands is administered by the Centennial Park &...
. It then proceeded down the centre of Anzac Parade through Maroubra Junction, and Malabar
Malabar, New South Wales
Malabar is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Malabar is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick.-Location:...
to its balloon loop terminus at Lapérouse. At Malabar, a single line branched off to serve Long Bay Gaol
Long Bay Correctional Centre
Long Bay Correctional Complex is located in the suburb of Malabar in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Long Bay comprises six institutions, four maximum security and two minimum security.-History:...
. The line was double track throughout. The line reached Lapérouse in stages from 1900 to 1902. The Loop is the circular track that was built as part of the Sydney tram terminus at Lapérouse. Closure was supported by the NRMA
NRMA
NRMA refers to either of two historically related Australian companies:*The National Roads and Motorists' Association, known as NRMA Motoring and Services, is a member-owned mutual organisation offering , motoring advice and other services in New South Wales and the Australian Capital...
, but generally went against public opinion. Nevertheless, closure became Labor government policy and the system was wound down in stages, with withdrawal of the last service, to Lapérouse in 1961. The line followed the current route of bus 394.
Attractions
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, with the children attending Lapérouse Public School when this first opened in the early 1950s.
Visitors can learn about the indigenous significance of the area from the Aboriginal people of the area, with boomerang-throwing demonstrations often held on weekends and Aboriginal guided tours operating from Yarra Bay House during the week. Aboriginal artefacts are produced and sold by locals. An outdoor reptile show is also a well-known tourist attraction in the pit, at The Loop, on Sunday afternoons. The reptile shows were begun by George Cann in the early 1920s and the tradition has been continued by members of the Cann family ever since.
Lapérouse has a few cafés and restaurants around the historic precinct, close to Frenchmans Bay.
Scuba Diving
The area around the La Perouse peninsula is considered to be one of the best scuba diving sites in NSW. Bare Island has numerous dive sites, some of which extend to over 19 metres in depth. The reef around the area is very extensive. There are also a number of dives around the mainland at La Perouse.Scuba divers here can see the common (weedy) sea dragon, red Indianfish, pygmy pipefish and big belly sea horses as well as all the normal fish found on dive sites in the Sydney area.
Pop culture
- Several scenes from Mission: Impossible IIMission: Impossible IIMission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
were filmed in Lapérouse, including Bare Island.