Diana Jones (Exec Director of Collections and Research WA Museum) and Dr Michael McCarthy (Curator).
Camera IconDiana Jones (Exec Director of Collections and Research WA Museum) and Dr Michael McCarthy (Curator). Credit: Supplied/Jon Hewson. d486540 communitypix.com.au

Fremantle: French artefacts are coming to the Maritime Museum

Leah RobertsFremantle Gazette

NEVER before seen artefacts are coming to the WA Maritime Museum for the Art of Science: Baudin’s Voyagers 1800-1804 exhibit .

Western Australian Museum collections and research executive director Diana Jones said preparations for the exhibition began in May 2015.

“The exhibition would be about the work of the French artist and naturalist Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and artist Nicholas-Martin Petit, who travelled to Australia with the expedition of Nicolas Baudin,” she said.

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“More than 350 original artworks are on loan from the Museum of Natural History, many of the artworks on show are being seen in Australia for the first time since they were created.”

The exhibition documents the achievements of the Baudin Expedition to Australia between 1800-1804.

Ms Jones said Nicholas Baudin’s ships, Gographe and Naturaliste, embarked from Le Havre, France in October 1800 for the southern continent.

“There were 18,414 individual items, including 3,872 animal species, 1,500 plant species and more than 600 species of seeds were collected, 10 times more than Captain Cook had brought back on his famous second voyage,” she said.

“The Art of Science exhibition features illustrations of Australian animals and marine life, as well as striking portraits of Aboriginal people, rare documents and hand-drawn maps from Nicolas Baudin’s expedition to Australia.”

Ms Jones said she hopes people will recognise that the Baudin Expedition played an important part in the history of Australia.

THE DETAILS:

WHAT: The Art of Science: Baudin’s Voyagers 1800 -1804

WHEN: On display until Sunday December 9

WHERE: WA Maritime Museum, Victoria Quay, Fremantle.