Why so many French names in the south-east of Tasmania?

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Not too far from Wineglass Bay in Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania is the Cape Tourville lighthouse. This was constructed in 1971 and is automatic. It has never been manned. In this area, it is hard not to notice the abundance of names with French connections. It all started in 1800 when the French ‘Voyage of Discovery’ started out under the command of Nicolas Baudin. The two ships, Le Geographe and Le Naturaliste neared Cape Leeuwin in Western Australian in May 1801 and many sites in this area also have French names. By January 1802, the ships had reached Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). Numerous flora and fauna samples were collected but the journey was beset by personal and political differences between Captain Baudin and the large group of scientists and artists. Baudin himself died on the return journey to France. It has been only in more recent years that Baudin’s achievements have been recognised. Forestier was one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s generals who helped organise Baudin’s ‘Voyage of Discovery’ and is commemorated by Cape Forestier. Freycinet Peninsula and Mt Freycinet are named for Henri de Freycinet who was sub-lieutenant on Le Geographe. The row of mountains that define Freycinet is called the Hazards and named after American whaler, Albert ‘Black’ Hazard, captain of a whaling ship active in the area in the 1820s. The Dutch also did a lot of exploring in the area and Abel Tasman surveyed the south-west coast of Tasmania in 1642 naming it Van Dieman’s Land. The Tasman Sea and Tasmania itself commemorate his achievements. He also named Schouten Island after a member of the Council of the Dutch East India Company, Joost Schouten. And let’s not forget the Toorernomairremener people, the aborigines who lived and hunted here and who knew and named every feature in their own language.